


Kalos at War

by wolfy221



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mystery, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 03:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11523324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfy221/pseuds/wolfy221
Summary: Something sinister is stirring within the Kalos region. Ten years after the disbandment of Team Flare, gangs were on the rise. New gangs, small and large, overrun Kalos with the intent of domination. Cassius Proctor, Detective of the Lumiose City PD, is focused on finding his father who went missing on a case four years ago. But before he can find his father, he must complete his newest assignment; he needs to play bodyguard for a flirty, famous researcher while in Kalos.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

The sky of Geosenge Town was filled with storm grey rain clouds, the cold rain stinging his face with every drop. Lightning tore across the sky, filling the sky with flashes of light. A man in a trench coat ran down the street, his Lucario following behind him.

_ Need to get back to the station. With this new information, I can break this case wide open!  _ He thought. His legs were weary, but he couldn't stop now.

He was sure that they had noticed what he took by now and were hunting him down. _I'm so close._ He continued to run down the city street, taking back alleys and small streets to avoid detection. He was only three blocks away from the station when an explosive Lava Plume erupted in front of him, blocking his path.

_ Shit, they caught up! _ The man and his Lucario frantically looked around them, trying to find who produced the attack.

No one was in sight. They couldn't get a visual on their attackers, but he had a trick up his sleeve.

"Luka, use your Aura to find where they're hiding," he said. The Lucario nodded in acknowledgment and closed its eyes, searching for the Auras of their attackers. A single heartbeat went by when Lucario pushed the man away and another Lava Plume blasted out from underneath it.

"Luka!" The man's agonized cry echoed off the walls of the alleyway. The Lava Plume died out and Luka was badly burned and knocked out. The man scrambled to his feet and gathered up his Lucario in his arms. A tear or two escaped from his eyes, the pain of seeing his beloved Luka in this battered state. The man steeled his nerves and swiveled his head to find a way out.

But he was greeted with the barrel of a large gun pointed at his face. The assailant's finger was ready to pull the trigger. "Good evening, Detective Proctor. I believe that you have something that you took from my associates and I would appreciate having it back in my possession." The man cloaked in shadows extended his empty hand as if he were to receive something.

"Piss off, bastard! I will never give this information up. Once I bring this back to the station, your plans will be ruined!"

He sensed that the Shadow Man frowned at this. "Such a shame. Oh well." He pulled the trigger and shot the man. The trench coat man crumbled to the ground, slowly bleeding out. "I wish I didn't have to do that but you gave me no choice." The Shadow Man stepped forward slowly, knelt down beside the bleeding man and began to rummage around his pockets for his prize. He found the diskette and pocketed it in his own coat.

"There is still a use for you though, Detective. I'm sure that you will be the perfect specimen for some of our experiments." The man stood back up and motioned to his subordinates hiding in the shadows. "Bring him back to the labs. Don't let him die. I have quite a few ideas of what to do with him."

 


	2. A Day as Per Usual

Chapter 1

A Day as Per Usual

The sun rose in the sky as it always did; far too early. Cassius Proctor smacked his screaming alarm clock and sighed. The first sight of the painfully bright morning light nearly sent him back to bed. He groaned as he dragged himself up, still exhausted from a foot chase late last night.

Cassius, a police detective of Lumiose City, yawned as he pulled himself out of bed in his loft. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms up, his back protesting with sharp popping noises from the slow movement, while the sun gleamed off of his back. "I think I need some milk with this snap, crackle, and pop."

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, proceeding to walk to his closet and pick out his clothes for work. He sifted through the clothing on hangers around, trying to find what it was that he would wear to work today. He spotted a pair of tailored grey slacks, pulled them off the hanger, and slipped into them. He grasped a sleeve of his freshly starched white button-down, considering whether to wear it or not. He decided to go for it and slipped it off the hanger. He peeled the shirt over his abs and fastened the buttons in the front. He reached for his red and black striped tie, tying it into a smart double Windsor. As he was straightening out his tie, he eyed his vests and picked out his navy blue vest. He slipped it over his button-down shirt.

As he went to grab his black shoes to wear for the day his young Riolu, Anubis, barreled through the door to his room and onto his bed. He was all hyped up for the day. Cassius looked at Anubis quizzically and asked, "Where's Patriot?" His question was answered with a " _tap, tap, tap"_ at the glass door that led out to his apartment's terrace. Cassius turned to face the source of the noise. His large, proud Braviary, Patriot, stood on the terrace, waiting for the door to be opened.

Cassius moved to open the terrace door to let his Braviary in. It hopped inside and nuzzled into his side, cooing with contentment. He smiled down at his starter when he heard a crash from the kitchen. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Cerberus! Are you getting into the trash again?" No response. He stepped out of his bedroom and into the hall, Patriot and Anubis tailing closely behind.

He looked into the kitchen and, sure enough, saw Cerberus standing over the spilled contents of the trash can. Cerberus was sniffing the scraps, trying to see if there was anything edible amongst the waste. It looked back up at him with a dopey grin on its face. "What have I told you about this? You need to stop rummaging through the trash if you're hungry and wait for when I feed you." Cerberus responded with a frown on his face and looked down at the ground, ashamed of what he did.

Cassius patted its head and herded everyone out of the kitchen, through the hallway and into the living room. Flash, his proud Luxray, lay on the couch, lazily grooming itself. It barely took any notice to everyone's entrance and continued to straighten out his own fur.

Cassius made his way into the kitchen to prepare his Pokemon their breakfast. His kitchen wasn't fancy, but it had all the amenities: refrigerator, stove and oven, microwave, a coffee maker, and a Poffin Pot that he'd had for years. He did want to repaint it from off-white to a warmer color, but he's been so busy with work that he can't find the time to get around to it. He made his Pokemon bowls of premium Poke Chow with a few of each one's favorite homemade Poffins. He liked a simple breakfast for himself, so he poured out a bowl of Rice Crispies and a cup of black coffee. He had to always keep easy to make food in stock for himself. It was cheap, sure, but he spent more of his paycheck on his Pokemon than himself. He grew his own Berries on his terrace to make it easier for him to make his own Pokemon food.

He began to move all the food out to the living room, placing the proper bowl in front of each Pokemon, then took a seat on his couch and began to eat his cereal. Like his kitchen, his living room was simple: a couch for himself and a few seats for visitors, a television on the wall, and a coffee table with some lamps in the corners of the room. Again, another off-white room that he wanted to repaint but couldn't find the time to do it. Everyone was engrossed in their food. His Pokemon were his toughest critics when it came to their meals and he held no notions that they wouldn't raise their displeasure if it was bad. This morning, though, was all happy enjoyment from a good breakfast.

Once they all finished he picked up the dirty dishes (Anubis helped a little, too) and moved into the kitchen, washing off the dishes quickly. He went back to his room, grabbed his work bag and Pokeballs, then went back to the living room. "Alright guys, time to get going," Cassius pointed three of the Pokeballs at Flash, Cerberus, and Patriot, returning them to their respective Pokeballs and clipping them to his belt. He decided to walk to work with Anubis today.

Walking out from his apartment complex onto Autumnal Avenue, Cassius made his way to the station. Anubis followed along with Cassius, walking right beside him and sometimes running ahead of him. Cassius couldn't help but smile at the little Riolu. Anubis loved to run around and since it was better to just let the little one exercise he made sure to take advantage of every opportunity possible.

He passed by the Lumiose Tower onto Vernal Avenue and continued down until he hit the station. They arrived at the front of the station, anticipation building for what case he was going to handle today.

"Well, time to get started. Ready Anubis?"

"Ruff," Anubis replied, jumping up and down in excitement.

Cassius smiled down at Anubis, shaking his head in amazement at the sheer energy that Anubis possessed. "Where do you get all of your pep from? And could I get some?"

"Ruff," Anubis exclaimed with a smile.

Cassius moved up the steps and to the doors. Walking through the front doors of the station, they went from the quiet of the street into the chaos of a busy police station. Police officers were bringing in criminals to be booked. More were scurrying about with paperwork that needed to be documented, signed by superiors, or put into the storage files. Desks were cluttered with more piles of paperwork and crime boards were filling up even more of the open space (or lack thereof). Phones were ringing off the hook every ten seconds. This place was a den of craziness and that was what Cassius loved about it. It was a nonstop, always moving kind of place and Cassius liked to keep himself busy.

Cassius weaved his way through the room. His desk was relatively clear of paperwork, all of which were filed in his "cases closed" folder. Except one. The case file that sat on his desk was a cold case from four years ago. His father's last case, one that Cassius wouldn't have been able to touch, let alone see, unless he was a Police detective. Thankfully, he had passed the exam a year and a half ago, so he could access the file, but he couldn't investigate any further without a little persuasion.

Cassius began to think of all the time he lost with his father. He would never be able to see him unless he got put on this case. He sighed, a stinging of loss in his chest. Anubis tugged on his pant leg, a worried expression on his face. _How can you read me so well, Anubis?_ It was obvious that his young partner worried about him.

"How's about we go ahead and help out some of these newbies, Anubis. I'm sure some of them are hitting a wall somewhere in their cases. "Anubis replied with a nod and pulled Cassius out of his chair, directing him to a case board that an officer was having a staring contest with. About two hours later, he was positing a scenario in which a thief could've used a Psychic Pokemon with Teleport to break into an armored truck when he heard someone calling his name.

"Proctor, Chief wants to see you in his office!"

Cassius turned around and responded with, "Roger, I'll be there in a sec!" A warm feeling of hope spread within his chest. _Maybe I'll finally get to work on my father's case!_

After he was done positing the scenario and providing some advice on how to proceed, he walked to his superior's office. He opened the door to receive a "Mornin', detective. Take a seat."

"What's going on, Chief? Got an assignment for me?"

The Chief got up out of his chair and walked over to his coffee pot, pouring himself a mug. Lumiose City Police Chief Richard Broderick was a tough old man; he was well into his fifties and had graying hair and a grizzly beard. He smoothed the front of his blue button-up and moved back towards his desk, his Pangoro sleeping in the corner. "Yes, in fact, I do. But it's not an investigation." He made a gesture to the chair in front of his desk, prompting Cassius to take a seat. "I need you to be a police escort for a prominent archaeologist and Pokepologist. His name is Darren Stone. I have a file put together providing some pertinent information for you." The Chief passed him a folder containing standard information on the ward, such as age and occupation to Pokemon that Dr. Stone uses. "You will be meeting him at Coumarine City Port in about three days. You will need to coordinate with the local police departments of any town you travel to while on this assignment. This was a request that was backed by Diantha herself, so all police departments are to comply."

Cassius frowned. This was not what he was hoping for. He didn't want to be walking some bespectacled Ruin Maniac throughout the Kalos Region. He wanted to find the bastards that kept his father from him for the past four years. But he was assigned this job. He bit his lip and said, "Yes, sir. I will make sure that this is a successful assignment."

As he stood up to leave, the Chief spoke up, a firm yet soothing tone in his voice. "I know that this isn't what you wanted. But I need someone experienced to handle this job. There have been some attempts to kidnap Dr. Stone on numerous occasions due to some of his research over the years and he requested that he have a police escort. He just wants to be able to do his work with a sense of security. You are one of my most experienced detectives and you're a veteran trainer that made it to the Elite Four. I hope you can just deal with it for now."

_ So my disappointment is apparent. Need to work on my poker face a little more.  _ "I know, Chief. I just wish that you would give me my father's case. I want to find whoever made him disappear. My father wouldn't go down easy, he had Luka with him and he's no easy to beat Pokemon! I want answers or someone to answer for my father's…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. He knew what everyone else thought. Most people were pronounced dead after a year. But he still held out some inkling of hope that his father was alive.

Chief let out a sigh. "Look. I'll cut ya a deal. You finish this assignment successfully; I will clear you to run your father's case. But I don't want you to do it alone. I'll assign a second investigator to keep you grounded and focused on the facts. But you need to complete this job first. No 'ifs', 'ands' or 'buts', got it?"

"Got it."

Chief Broderick handed him a file. "Now get going. You need to get your ass up to Coumarine by Friday. Pack up and head out."

"No need to tell me twice, Chief."

Cassius walked out of the office and back to his desk. Anubis popped up right next to him, his head cocked to the side questioningly. "Ruff?"

"I have a new assignment. It's working as a police escort, all of us, and we get to do a bit of travelling. We will be leaving for Coumarine City tomorrow. You remember when we went there to take on Ramos? Maybe we'll get to meet with him and catch up on old times?"

"Ruff!" Anubis was very happy to be able to meet an old face, especially when it was a Gym Leader that he had beaten in the past.

"Alright, let's head out and pack up. It's going to be an all-day ride tomorrow and I want to get there at least a day in advance to scout out the area. I don't want to leave anything to chance after this Dr. Stone arrives." Cassius grabbed the file and dropped it in his work bag. He slung it over his shoulder and left the station.


	3. On the Road Again

Chapter 2

On the Road Again

Cassius stopped outside of the station just before he walked back to his apartment. He decided to let the family out for the walk back. He unclipped his Pokeballs and tossed them into the air. Three bright flashes of light were released from the balls and out came Cerberus, Flash, and Patriot. "Alright guys, we have a new assignment. We are to protect a man from some 'overzealous' people who want him for his research. We need to go home and get ready. It's looking like it'll be a long trip, guys, so we need to get home and pack." Everyone responded with raucous cheers and they began their walk back home.

Cerberus and Flash were flanking him on either side, with Anubis running up front and Patriot resting on his shoulder. It had been a while since he and his Pokemon had done this. Not since he was back in his training days, anyway. Some days he missed the travel. And then he would remember all the near death experiences that were a regular occurrence for him when he was on the road. He pushed those thoughts back out of his mind and leisurely continued to walk the rest of the way to his home and through the door.

They arrived back at the apartment. Cassius pulled out his key, unlocked the door to his apartment, and stepped inside. He passed through the threshold and turned to face his Pokemon in the living room and said, "All right, I'll need everyone to help out a bit. Anubis, you and I are packing the bags. Flash and Cerberus, I need you guys to do some tidying up and grab some berries from outside. Patriot, grab what we need from the bathroom."

With a ruckus of understanding and agreement, they all went their separate ways. Cassius began to pull out some t-shirts and sweaters from the closet, while Anubis was grabbing pairs of socks, jeans, and underwear. Cassius loaded up his two suitcases with the clothes and moved them out into the living room. Flash and Cerberus had finished with picking up trash and dirty clothes in the room and moved outside to start picking some Berries. They grabbed some Oran, Aguav, Sitrus, Pecha, and Mago berries. He would have to remember to put those in the cooler tonight and to grab more to make some Poffins for the trip.

On his way back to his room, he caught Patriot looking in the mirroring, admiring his reflection. "Hey, Mr. Sexy, stop making kissy face at yourself in the mirror and get back to work," Cassius teased. Patriot squawked haughtily at Cassius and made sure to grab the always prepared toiletry bag from the bathroom, as well as the grooming kit from the hallway closet. Cassius was always prepared for travel. He was the lead investigator of the gang crimes unit in the Lumiose Police Department, so he would be called away to different cities all across the region to assist in dealing with minor gang uprisings.

With the bags packed and the cooler prepped, Cassius went to work making some Poffins. This was another thing that he picked up along his travels. He had made some friends who were from the Sinnoh Region when he still traveled; they taught him how to make them. His Pokemon loved this treat and they were healthy treats, too. He quickly made the Poffins and packed them in his Poffin Case. Everything was packed and ready to go. All that was left was moving everything into the car.

Later that night, Cassius was sitting on his couch reviewing the file on Darren Stone. The guy is almost as old as he was and very successful for his age. He garnered the respect of all the Professors of the world of Pokemon, such as Professors Oak and Rowan. He also seemed to be pretty capable, if the Pokemon that he carried with him had any battle experience. He carries a Sigilyph, a Rotom, and a Braviary, all seemingly strong and capable. _So why would he ask for protection? What was it that caused him to ask for help like this? Was it someone that was after his research? Did he have something that these people wanted?_

There are too many variables for Cassius to posit any scenarios at this point and it's not his job to find out why his ward is being targeted, only protect him from those who are targeting him. Cassius shook his head, as if to shake the thoughts of who was behind all this, and put the file down and headed off to bed. He had to wake up early and head out to Coumarine City before his ward arrived.

Cassius awoke before the sun rose over the horizon. He went over to his closet and searched for something to wear. He spotted his favorite red t-shirt and slipped it over his torso. He grabbed his favorite pair of worn, black leather boots that sat in the corner of his closet, along with his black leather belt that sat on the shelf, and tossed them towards his bed. He walked back out to his dresser and opened up a drawer, grabbing the first pair of jeans that he saw that weren't worn out, torn up, or just destroyed. Casiius paused and then went back into his closet to grab one last thing: a chocolate brown leather jacket that his father got him for his 16th birthday. It was his favorite jacket and it was well taken care of. It still looked almost brand new. _Can't believe that I nearly forgot about this._ After he grabbed his jacket, Cassius began to load his car up with the luggage. After he finished loading up the car, he went back to grab his sidearm and badge. He holstered his weapon and badge to his belt. He didn't want to leave anything to chance. Who knew whether or not these guys were strictly Pokemon users or would be packing heat? He let his Pokemon remain resting in their Pokeballs and started his car. As he set off for the highway connected to Coumarine, he pulled out his phone and made a call to Coumarine's police department.

A young woman's voice answered, "Coumarine Police Department, how may I help you today?"

"This is Lumiose City Police Detective Cassius Proctor; I'm calling to alert your police department of a person of interest who had requested police protection while here in the Kalos region. I am the officer who has been assigned to be his guide, escort, and bodyguard for the duration of his stay. I wish to brief your Police Chief of the situation myself."

"I will transfer you. Please hold."

A few minutes pass before there was an answer. "Police Chief Cyrus Ryodan. I have been given the bare bones of the situation but I need to get clarification from you. Why does this man need police protection?"

"Apparently he has been attacked numerous times while on trips for his research. The group that has been targeting him has become progressively aggressive, with attacks ranging from minor ambushes up to nearly successful kidnap attempts. I have no clue as to why, but he may be able to provide more insight after he arrives tomorrow. He put in the request directly to Kalos Champion Diantha and she approved it. Lumiose City Police Chief Broderick will be emailing the paperwork later today."

There was a pause before a sigh could be heard over the phone. "Roger, I appreciate the heads up. I will put together a small task force to assist you while you're here in Coumarine. You will be running point on this, I assume?"

"Yes. I will make sure that this will be taken care of as quickly and smoothly as possible. You can count on that."

"Roger that. I want you to report here as soon as you get into the city. I would much rather like to meet you in person than over the phone."

"Roger."

Cassius hung up the phone and continued to drive. Taking the highway from Lumiose to Coumarine was approximately a five hour drive. Cassius could make it in four.

Upon arrival at Coumarine City, Cassius made his way to the Police Department. He pulled up into the parking lot and got out of his car. Walking up to the doors of the Coumarine Police Department, Cassius saw a man waiting for him with a Floatzel standing beside him. He was an older man, his hair black with grey beginning to set in with a matching beard. He wore a black suit, a white button up with a red tie. "Good afternoon, Detective Proctor. How was your drive?"

Cassius gave a brief salute that the Chief returned. "Good morning, Chief Ryodan. I enjoyed it very much. I assume that this is your Floatzel. It looks very…capable." Capable was the only way to describe it politely. It just looked downright intimidating to him. _What is up with Police Chiefs having some of the most intimidating Pokemon?_ "I was hoping to get maybe three or four men for a protection detail while Mr. Stone is in town. When he leaves I will coordinate with the police department who oversees the locations that he will be visiting."

The man replied with a grunt and a curt, "Thank you. I will be able to have a protection detail set up and ready for you to lead by this evening. We'll be ready for the briefing at 6pm this evening. Be here fifteen minutes prior."

"Yes, it is. I will check in at the inn and take a look around town, see if I can get a feel for it. I haven't been here in a long time. Do you know if Ramos is around? I wanted to drop by and say hi."

Ryodan gave him a disapproving look, and then said, "Yeah, he should be in the Gym. He likes to take a lunch break around this time, so he should be free to chat."

"Thank you." He gave the Chief one more salute, and then got back into his car to drive to Seaside Station and take the monorail to the Gym. Ramos was the nicest of the Gym Leaders that he could remember meeting. He even gave him some good advice for raising Flash.

Twenty minutes later, Cassius was getting off the monorail and headed for the Gym. He reached the entrance, with Anubis following beside him, trying to remember what the obstacles were for this Gym. He walked through the entrance and got a brutal reminder of what it was: rope climbing. _Why do I do this to myself?_ He walked forward to one of the Gym Trainers and said that he was an old friend of Ramos and wanted to chat. He was ushered away from the rope climb and to a hidden flight of stairs. _Never mind. I just lucked out of a workout!_

He climbed the stairs and reached the top where Ramos sat at his table eating his lunch. Cassius approached slowly. It had been years since he had seen or spoke to Ramos. It would be nice to see an old face.

"Good afternoon, Ramos. How are you doing?"

Ramos turned his head to look over his shoulder to see who had spoken. Once he laid eyes on him, Ramos stood up with a smile stretching across his face and exclaimed, "Come here, boy! The last time I saw you was just before you went off to the academy! How's my favorite grandson?"

Cassius walked forward to give his grandfather a bear hug. "I'm doing fine, Grandpa. I'm in town on assignment and I just had to see you. I'm gonna be in town for a few days, so I wanted to make sure I saw you at least once." He loved his grandfather and felt terrible for not visiting more often. Unfortunately, there has been an influx in crime since Team Flare had been caught ten years ago. Smaller gangs were vying to be the top dog all across Kalos, most of them situated in Lumiose City. Since he was one of the Head Investigators of the Gang Crimes unit out of his station, the long nights of paperwork and foot chases kept him away from his family as much as it kept him from painting that damn kitchen.

"Really? What kind of assignment? You know that I like to make sure that my town is safe while I have jurisdiction here."

"Nothing crazy. I'm playing bodyguard for an archaeologist while he's here in Kalos. Mind if I join you? I haven't eaten a thing since I've been on the road all day."

"Of course, Cassy, of course," Ramos said as he pulled out a chair from the table for his grandson. "Here, have a sandwich."

Cassius took the sandwich gratefully and was just about to take a bite when Anubis pulled on his pant leg. Cassius looked down and saw that puppy dog look on his face. _Damn, how could I forget about my Pokemon. They haven't eaten since we left this morning, either._

"Grandpa, do you mind if my Pokemon join us? They haven't eaten yet, either, and I would feel terrible if I ate without them."

"Of course, my boy, you go ahead and let them out. I haven't seen any of them in a long time, either. Might as well get reacquainted."

Cassius smiled, then stood up and reached for his Pokeballs. He released Patriot, Flash, and Cerberus. "Everyone, say hi to Grandpa. Cerberus, this is the first time that you've met him, but I hope you get along."

Flash sauntered right up to Ramos and nudged into his side. Ramos scratched him behind the ears and smiled. "I remember you. You're that little Shinx that my grandson found. You've grown up quite a bit. But you're still just a little kitten on the inside." Flash just kept nuzzling and purring, smiling the whole time. Grandpa looked right at Cassius and said, "You've done a fine job raising this one. He was so shy around everyone when you first got him. Now he can't help but walk around with pride and confidence."

Cassius smiled at the compliment. "I wouldn't have known how if it wasn't for you, Grandpa. You were the one who taught me how." Ramos just smiled back, and then looked at Patriot. "Oh my. Wasn't that you're little Rufflet? He's gotten so big!" Patriot perched himself on top of the bookshelf and tried to look majestic and failing miserably. Ramos just laughed and said, "You grew up rather well. You're larger than most in your species, you know. It's just a shame that you still haven't quite adjusted to your size." Patriot squawked in indignation, to which Ramos gave a grin. "I'm just pulling you're leg, kiddo. You're glorious and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Cerberus still sat beside Cassius, trying to find the right way to approach. He was the most intimidating of all the Pokemon and didn't want scare the elderly man. Cassius saw the gears turning and decided to put a stop to it before poor Cerberus had a breakdown. "Grandpa, this is Cerberus. He is my newest Pokemon. I got him while I was gone at the academy. Raised him from a little Houndour, too."

Ramos turned to look and saw the nervous Houndoom looking bashful around this elderly man. Ramos smiled and shook his head. "Pup, you are not the scariest Pokemon that I've seen." Ramos walked up to the Houndoom and rubbed its head, relaxing Cerberus. Cerberus grinned at himself and looked back at Ramos with what looked to be a smile. Then Ramos caught sight of Anubis. "Anubis! Oh my, you look so strong. Been helping my grandson here wrangle up the bad guys, eh? I can see that it's a workout."

Anubis looked up at Ramos with a smile in its eyes, enthused by the compliment of how strong he looked. Cassius couldn't help but smile at the adorable fighter.

They both sat back down for lunch and started to talk. They spoke about whether or not Ramos was going to retire (which got Cassius a swift smack to the back of the head and an earful of "I'M NOT THAT OLD!), to what kind of cases that Cassius worked on, leading up to the one that Cassius was working on right now. He explained what the job entailed, but not why he accepted it. He didn't want his grandfather to know that he could be working the last case his father was on. Ramos already lost his son to it; he didn't want him to worry about his grandson or entertain the thought that what happened to his father might happen to him.

"It's been a while since I've been back here in Coumarine. It's actually very relaxing to be here. There isn't the craziness of gang members trying to kill each other or innocent people on the streets." Cassius breathed in a deep and mind clearing breath, relaxing slightly. _Guess the giant tree in here makes the air fresher._

"That doesn't mean that the gangs don't exist. It's just a lot less of a problem. We have a few B&E's every now and then, but there really hasn't been any violence up here," Ramos stated.

"As long as there aren't gunshots going off every 10 minutes like clockwork, I'm happy," Cassius replied, a grin forming on his face.

Ramos returned the grin with one of his own and a very unexpected question. "Have you been seeing anyone, Cassy?" The question caught Cassius by surprise so much so that he nearly spilt coffee all over himself.

"Come again, Grandpa?"

"Oh, come on, sonny! Have you met anyone, dated anyone? I can hardly believe that you would be single. A handsome young man such as yourself needn't work hard to bring in the ladies," Ramos said, his eyebrows doing what appeared to be "the wave".

"No, Grandpa, I'm not seeing anyone. I haven't been on a date in months." _I'm really not looking, anyways. Last person I dated was a two-timing gold-digger._ "Work has gotten out of control, what with all the gang wars going on all around Kalos. I'm either chasing down criminals all around Lumiose City or being shipped around the region to provide some help where it's needed. Dating really hasn't been a priority for me."

Ramos frowned and shook his head. "You're working yourself too hard. When was the last time you had a vacation? If you keep this up you'll end up running yourself into the ground." There was a pause. "I just don't want to lose you like I did your father."

Those words were like a kick to the stomach. He felt bad for thinking that he was the only one suffering from his father's disappearance and even worse for not telling him that his next case would be the one his father disappeared on.

Cassius steeled himself, though, and looked his grandfather right in the eye while placing a comforting hand on one of Ramos', saying "Don't worry. You won't lose me."


	4. That Which Shatters the Heart

Chapter 3

That Which Shatters the Heart

BOOM! The whole Gym building shook from the shockwave of the explosion. Cassius jumped to his feet, knocking his chair down to the ground. Every muscle in his body tensed. _I'm not even here for more than a few hours and shit already begins to hit the fan!_ Ramos went from smiling grandfather to stern Gym Leader at the drop of a hat. This was the side of Ramos that only showed up whenever his dear city was in danger. Not many people saw this side of Ramos, but those that did knew that whenever he was like this he was scary.

Their eyes met, reaching an immediate understanding. Cassius returned all of his Pokemon while Ramos went for his Pokeballs. They rushed to the slide built-in to the Gym and took a ride down. They ran through the front door and saw smoke billowing up from the monorail.

Cassius was immediately in damage control mode, ready to give orders. "Grandpa, I'll head toward the monorail and see what's going on. You should-"

Cassius made the mistake of thinking that Ramos was just his grandfather, but Ramos was in just as much of a state of mind to control the situation as him. "Now don't be telling me what I should and shouldn't do, sonny. I may be your grandpa, but I'm also the Gym Leader in charge of this city! I can handle myself just fine. Call the police chief and meet me at the monorail." Ramos tossed a Pokeball into the air and his Gogoat appeared. He climbed on top of it and rode off towards the monorail.

"GRANDPA!" _Damn it._ Cassius pulled out his cellphone and dialed the police department.

A familiar voice answered the phone, a young woman by the sound of it. "Coumarine Police Department, how may I help you?"

"This is Detective Proctor. I am on my way to the Seaside Station Monorail. An explosion just went off a few minutes ago and I see smoke coming from the direction of the monorail. I was with Gym Leader Ramos, who just went off in the direction of the explosion to investigate. Requesting backup."

"I will have backup on the way."

Cassius hung up the phone and called out Patriot. "Time to fly." He reached up for Patriot, grabbing onto his legs. With a few wing beats, Cassius was in the air, headed towards the monorail. It was a short flight from the Gym and he made it there just as his grandfather arrived. Patriot hovered a few feet in the air, close enough for Cassius to drop down safely.

The flames of the railcar danced in front of their eyes, the screams of men, women, children and Pokemon creating a cacophonous song that rang throughout the air. The monorail lay on its side, close to the edge of the cliff. Cassius's stomach churned at the idea of it falling into the abyss beyond. Innocent people were trapped in a flaming monorail car with no way to get out.

"Grandpa, we need to get them out of there!" Possible ways to save the passengers continuously streamed through his mind so fast that he couldn't grasp the right way to do it. He looked to his grandfather for help. He was not used to something like this. He dealt with criminals and guns, not with flaming vehicles that would kill trapped innocents.

"I agree. I say we bust a hole through the bottom of the car and pull everyone out." Cassius took a deep breath in and exhaled, letting his panic fade away. He couldn't help anyone if his mind was muddled with worry. He nodded in agreement, his mind calmer with a plan in mind, and let out the rest of his Pokemon. Flashes of light burst from his Pokeballs and in an instant Flash, Cerberus, and Anubis were standing in front of him. Ramos did not release any more of his Pokemon and stuck with Gogoat.

"Patriot, Crush Claw!" Patriot flew up to the car, talons glowing, and started to slash at the bottom of it. He began to slice through, the sound of metal being ripped apart resonating in the air, but not enough to rip open a hole. "Anubis, Shadow Claw!" Anubis ran up to the spot that Patriot was tearing away at, his paws surrounded by a purple energy that formed long claws. He began to tear away at the hole, as well, opening it even further. But it still wasn't enough to open a hole that the trapped people could get through.

Then Ramos stepped in. "Pull your Pokemon back. They've opened it up enough for Gogoat and I to bust through. Have Cerberus and Flash on standby to start pulling people out." Cassius nodded in agreement and called the two of them off. "Gogoat, Take Down," bellowed Ramos. Gogoat lowered its head as if it were a raging Taurus and charged forward towards the hole, ripping it open large enough for people to get out.

"Flash, Cerberus, let's go," Cassius commanded. The three of them ran into the flames, charging in with the intent of pulling out those who needed help. Instead, all he saw was an empty monorail and a boom box that had the sounds of screaming people and Pokemon. _Aw crap. This is a-_ was all that he was able to think before he began hearing explosions outside of the railcar. Cassius turned around to stare out from the entryway. There were three people standing outside with Ramos facing them with Gogoat, Patriot and Anubis. _Gang members, probably a local crew_. Cassius scrambled out of the fiery deathtrap with Flash and Cerberus, standing next to Ramos.

The three gangbangers stood on the adjacent cliff, standing above them. _Holding the high ground. They're smart._ "Grandpa, do you know who these guys could be," whispered Cassius.

Ramos nodded, his face stoic in the midst of danger. "These are some hooligans that I helped the police put away a few months ago. They broke into a house and nearly beat a woman to death because she wouldn't give them her wedding ring."

"I thought you said that the gangs up here weren't that bad," Cassius exclaimed.

"Yes, but some have become increasingly violent. No one has died, yet, but there have been numerous assaults as of late."

Then it clicked. Ramos helped to put them away; now they wanted to revenge. So they blew up the monorail to draw him out and away from the town. They wanted him alone, then overpower him with numbers.

"Grandpa, get out of here. You're their target and I'm pretty sure that it's not for a Gym battle."

"I'm staying right here, Cassius. I won't let them get the better of me, you know that. They wanna fight, then they're gonna get one."

His grandfather was a stubborn bastard, but he knew this. Stubborn was a family trait, after all. "Fine," he conceded, "but don't let them catch you off guard." He looked back at the criminals. They were outnumbered, had no clue how many Pokemon they had or even if they were armed. But he did know that they had backup on the way. The question was could they survive until then?

"Long time, no see, Ramos. How've you been," the delinquent in the center asked. He was about 5' 9", had short black hair, and wore a black tank top with jeans and a red bandana around his head. He had a tattoo on his right arm: a tree on fire. The other two gangbangers had matching tattoos. _Where have I seen that tattoo before? It looks familiar._

"Why have you done this," Ramos shouted, shaking his shears in the direction of the railcar.

"I made sure that the two of us would be alone. Well, that was the plan anyway. Didn't realize you had company," he sneered. The other two scowled at Cassius, disgust obvious on their faces. Cassius ignored them, his face stony. "I have some business with you. You see, we have some…investors…that want you out of the picture. In exchange, when they gain control of the city, we get to call the shots for them. This'll be our turf and we'll be rich!"

"Don't get your hopes up too high. Your investors could just as easily turn on you if you fail." Cassius stated. "What guarantee do you have that they wouldn't betray you at the drop of a hat?" The gangbangers turned to look at him, contempt washing over their faces.

"Shut up! WE are gonna run this town soon and you won't stop us!" And that was when he pulled out the gun and opened fire on them. Before Cassius could react, Gogoat ran between Ramos and the bullet, and then dropped to the ground screeching in pain. It had been shot in its rear flank. Cassius didn't think the gunshot would kill it, but it was still going to hurt.

"Gogoat!" Ramos ran up to it, scrambling for its Pokeball to return it and tripped, nearly falling on his shears. Cassius ran up to Ramos and retrieved Gogoat's fallen Pokeball, returning it and giving the Pokeball back to his grandfather. _At least we know that one of them is armed._

That was fine with him. It gave him all he needed to get his Pokemon involved. "Cerberus, Smog!" Cerberus ran up in front of the two of them and let loose a cloud of poisonous gas at their attackers, simultaneously providing cover for the two of them. "Flash, blast the cliff with a Shock Wave!" Luxray are a species that also have the ability to use x-ray vision, so Flash could easily see through the Smog attack to find its target. Flash sparked then discharged a blast of electricity at the base of the small cliff. It was just strong enough to create a small rockslide that the attackers soon rode down with.

"Anubis, Flash, get Grandpa out of here. Patriot, use Aerial Ace!" Anubis came up to them with Flash and helped Ramos onto Flash's back. While they were doing that, Patriot spotted one of the attackers and came down on him like the bird of prey that he was. It was a direct hit, throwing the gangbanger up against the rock wall and knocking him out.

They began to run in the direction of the Pokemon Center south of where they were. Ramos didn't argue this time. His precious Gogoat had been hurt. He couldn't let pride be his downfall, nor could he let Gogoat's condition worsen. He turned back to look at Cassius one more time before they were out of sight.

_ Good, _ Cassius thought, _they're out of danger. And I just have two more to go. Piece of cake._ "Cerberus, use Odor Sleuth to find where they are, then take them out with a Feint Attack!" Cerberus nodded and jumped into the smoke cloud. He knew that he wouldn't be affected by his own poisonous Smog, but he couldn't say the same about the gangbangers. He heard a yelp of pain (human, thankfully) and not a minute after that, Cerberus was carrying another one out of the Smog.

_ One more left. _ He cuffed the second one, just in case he woke up while everything was still going on. He was confident, but not stupid. He unholstered his weapon as the Smog cleared and the last gangbanger was left. The black haired bastard that shot his grandfather's Gogoat. He still held the pistol in his right hand, but in his left was a Pokeball. "Shit."

The gangbanger smiled and tossed the Pokeball, releasing a Drapion. It was huge and looked ready to kill. Hell, the guy probably _trained_ it to kill for all he knew. "GUILLOTINE!"

The Drapion's claws began to glow as it lunged towards Cerberus. Thankfully, Cerberus had seen it coming before he did and nimbly moved out of the way. "Flamethrower, Cerberus!" Cerberus inhaled then gave the Drapion a face full of fire. It roared in pain with its claws flailing in every direction, hoping to land a hit on Cerberus. He wouldn't give him that chance.

"Patriot, Brave Bird!" Patriot came down hard and fast at the Drapion, surrounded by an aura of blue energy. It was a direct hit and the Drapion was down. The black haired man's smile turned into a scowl. He pointed the gun right at him as Cassius trained his on the man.

"Give it up. I already have backup on the way, your friends are knocked out, and I'm pretty sure that I'm a better shot than you."

"Who's to say you are? I just might be better than ya think."

"I doubt that. I've been around guns my whole life. I know exactly how to pull that weapon apart and put it back together again with my eyes closed. Now drop it."

The man went from scowling to worry for a split second, not moving the gun down at all. Then he dropped it, raising his hands above his head. Patriot scooped up the gun in its talons, tossing it away from the man. Cassius moved forward and placed the man's arms behind his back, cuffing him. He read him his rights, then had Cerberus and Patriot stand guard around him. He picked up the man's Pokeball and returned his Drapion. _Don't want that thing waking up with its trainer cuffed._ He walked over to the third member and cuffed him, too. Now all he needed to do was to wait for backup.

The minutes passed by slowly before he heard the sirens coming from the north. _Took them long enough._ Three squad cars rolled up onto the scene with Police Chief Ryodan leading the pack. He saw the blazing railcar and ordered his men to put out the fire.

"And get it done fast!" He turned to look at the gaggle of criminals with Cassius standing over them. "Good work, Proctor. Now do you mind explaining the situation?"

"Normally, I would give you the full run-down right now, but Ramos' Gogoat was shot and my Luxray and Riolu went with him to the Pokemon Center. I need to see if they made it back safely."

Chief Ryodan gave him a frustrated look and then tilted his head to the side questioningly. "What's up with you and Ramos? And why are you so worried about him?"

This was where things got awkward. Anywhere he went, people would find out about his family. Then they would look at him differently. It took almost the whole first year with the Lumiose PD to get everyone to stop looking at him funny, awkwardly and on edge, when word got out that a Gym Leader's grandkid was working there. He didn't want more people to know. But it was his superior asking him and he needed Chief Ryodan to trust him.

Cassius let out a sigh. "Ramos is my grandfather." Chief Ryodan's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "He and I were the first on the scene. We thought there were people in the monorail over there, but it looks like this was a setup. One of them was armed with a gun, said that they had 'investors' that paid them to get rid of Ramos. That was when he opened fire on us. The bastard was tring to kill Ramos, but shot my grandpa's Gogoat. I made sure that Ramos was fine, got his Gogoat back in its Pokeball, and sent him off to the Pokemon Center with my Luxray and Riolu for protection. I then proceeded to immobilize the criminals utilizing my Pokemon. I'll give you a written report later, but right now I need to be with my grandfather."

Chief Ryodan look astonished, a slack jaw look on his face. He then composed himself enough to say, "Fine, we'll take over from here. Just be sure to bring that report in before your briefing tonight. I want to know what the hell went on here, down to the last shot fired. Now go and make sure that Ramos is alright."

As soon as he returned Cerberus to his Pokeball he grabbed onto Patriots legs and began to fly in the sky. The flight was a little longer than the one from the Gym, but they made it. He rushed inside and to the front desk. Nurse Joy looked a little frightened by the man all but crashing through the door. "Where's Ramos? Are he and Gogoat alright?"

Understanding came across her features and she nodded. "He's outside of the Operating Room. His Gogoat will be fine, but he won't be battling for a few months. Let me take you to him."

Cassius nodded and followed her down the hall to the OR. He saw Ramos sitting on a bench, his face in his hands. "Grandpa!" Cassius rushed to his grandfather. Ramos looked up and stood up. "He's going to be fine; the bullet went through and through. He'll be in a cast for a few months, but other than that he'll make a full recovery. But if that bullet had strayed to the right an inch, it would've hit an organ and Gogoat might not have made it. Flash and Anubis are getting checkups right now. Thought it be best."

"That's fine, Grandpa. How're you holding up?"

Ramos sighed. "Beating myself up. That bullet was meant for me, not Gogoat. I feel terrible for letting that happen. I let my pride get me and it nearly cost me my precious Gogoat." Ramos looked towards the operating room away from Cassius looking dispirited.

Cassius put a comforting hand on Ramos' shoulder. "Grandpa, it's not your fault. Those guys won't be able to do that again. I caught all three of them. Backup arrived and is handling the rest. I'm here now; it's going to be all right." Ramos nodded. "I'm going to get Patriot and Cerberus looked at. I'll be back in a few, alright?" Again, Ramos nodded.

Ramos sat back down while Cassius walked back to the front desk. As he walked down the hall, he couldn't help but hear crying. It was his grandfather. That just pissed him off. And broke his heart. _I'll make sure those bastards go away for a long time, Gramps. I promise._


	5. An Olive Branch

Chapter 4

An Olive Branch

Cassius went to go check in Cerberus and Patriot with Nurse Joy. He thought a check-up after a skirmish with some gang bangers would be best. Plus, he still needed to get his report written up for Chief Ryodan. "Nurse Joy, is there a computer that I could use? I have to write something up real quick." She nodded and pointed in the direction of the lobby where there were a few computers that were set up for use by trainers. No one was currently working on any of them.

He logged in and proceeded to access the Kalos Region Police Server. He pulled up the proper documents from the paperwork database and began to fill them out: Shots Fired report, Pokemon Usage against Armed Combatants report, and an After Action report. _Gotta love paperwork,_ Cassius thought, _even though I despise constantly having to justify every little thing that I do._ This was the part of the job that got tedious. Cassius spent the next hour and a half typing up his report for Chief Ryodan. He printed out the reports. As he got up to leave he saw the Poke Mart and decided to head in to pick up a folder and bag to keep them in.

"Mr. Proctor! Your Pokemon are all done," Nurse Joy called. He turned to see her motioning to the desk, his Pokeballs on a tray. He strode up to the counter and grabbed his Pokemon. He looked back down the hallway where his Grandfather sat and questioned whether or not he should try to comfort him. _Maybe it would be best if I don't._ He took in a deep breath, exhaled and turned towards the door to leave, determination propelling him forward to do his job.

Cassius finally made it back to the police station after half an hour of flying with Patriot due to the inconvenience of the destroyed railcar. He walked through the front doors and up to the desk. The clerk was a pretty brunette with her hair pinned up in a bun. She wore wire rimmed glasses and a white blouse under a blue blazer. She was hurriedly typing away on the desktop computer, a look of concentration taking over her pale features and her slender fingers flying on the keyboard.

Cassius was a little apprehensive to disturb her, but he had to anyway. "Excuse me," Cassius said. She looked up for a moment then said "One moment." She continued typing for a few minutes before she turned back to him. "May I help you?"

That was when Cassius recognized the voice. It was the same woman who answered all of his phone calls. _Small world, huh?_ "Yes, I'm Detective Cassius Proctor of the Lumiose City Police Department. I'm here to see Police Chief Ryodan to give him a full report on the railcar incident. He's expecting me."

She eyed him, as if to find any deceit in his words, and then went back to her computer. "Badge number?"

"Badge Number 68425."

She typed into the computer then looked at him again. She picked up the phone next to her computer monitor and dialed a number. "Yes, Chief, there is a Detective Proctor here to see you about the railcar incident …alright, I'll send him in." She hung up the phone and motioned him to follow her. She walked out from behind the desk and walked out into the bullpen. There wasn't much of a difference between the layout of this police department from the Lumiose one, just that it was smaller. She came up to a door in the back of the building and rapped three times on it. "Come in." The clerk pushed the door open and let Cassius in.

"Chief Ryodan, Detective Proctor is here to report to you." Ryodan waved Cassius in with his hand, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. Cassius sat down then pulled out the report file for him to look at. "This is the report. I've included the proper documents for you to read. I'm available to fill in any blanks that you feel I missed in my report, but it's safe to say that everything in there is accurate."

Ryodan opened up the file and began to read through the report. He flipped from page to page, reading the details that were provided: the explosions, the flaming railcar, the shot that injured Gogoat, everything. He looked back up with a questioning look on his face. "Only one of them was armed and used their Pokemon in this incident? That's quite surprising."

Cassius looked him straight in the eye and said "I didn't give them the chance to. I believe that I stated it in the report. As soon as my grandfather's Gogoat was shot, I got him back in his Pokeball, while my Houndoom caused a smokescreen with his Smog. With the criminals coughing their lungs out, I had my Luxray use Shock Wave on the cliff that they were on to knock them down and further into the Smog. I had my Luxray and Riolu escort Ramos back to the Pokemon center while my Houndoom and Braviary polished off the rest of the criminals."

"You have amazing reflexes and battle sense for a new police detective. How come?"

"I was on the training circuit back when I was a beginning trainer. My father was a strong trainer and my grandfather is Ramos. I got all 8 gym badges and only needed three Pokemon to get them. I even came very close to taking on the Elite Four before I realized that this was my passion in life. I've been training my Pokemon for these kinds of situations ever since."

Chief Ryodan's eyebrows went up slightly and nodded his head in approval. "Well you did good. You single-handedly took down a lieutenant and a leader of the Coumarine Crew. It's a local gang that has its members identify themselves with a tattoo of a burning tree located somewhere on their body. Strictly a local gang, so they never venture any further than Fourrage Road. They normally are just involved in B&E's, not full blown assassination attempts on a Gym leader."

"The leader of the trio said they were getting paid," Cassius stated. "I'm pretty sure that if they were paid the right amount, they would go far outside of their comfort zones. Give me an hour with them and I'm sure that I will be able to get the who, what, when, where and why."

Chief Ryodan looked down at the report again, considering whether or not to let Cassius take point on the interrogation. He scrunched his forehead in thought then looked back up at Cassius. "Alright," he said with a sigh. "Get in there and get me some answers."

Cassius nodded his head in gratitude. "Yes, sir. I will get you everything that you need." Ryodan stood up, cuing Cassius to stand as well. Chief Ryodan motioned for Cassius to follow him. They walked out from Chief Ryodan's office and maneuvered around the bustling bullpen to the holding cells. Each gang member was in a separate cell. The first cell had the black haired man that Cassius believed to be one of the gang's top leaders. He looked like he was just chilling out in there, as if it were his second home. The second cell had a pale gangbanger in baggy jeans, a blue t-shirt and a blonde crew cut, military style. He looked pretty stoic and still. He was calm. The third cell held a young man, probably no older than 16. A skinny brunette with a serious case of mophead, he wore a large red t-shirt and baggy pants. He was looking all around and was frightened, scared. _Bingo, we have found the weakest link._

"I'll start with the youngest. Give me ten minutes max and I'll get the information that you need," Cassius said. "Be sure you can. We need to get as much information as possible. See to it that it gets done," Ryodan responded. With a nod of his head, Cassius walked over to the interrogation room door, pulling up a seat for himself. The teen came in not long after Cassius got himself settled.

As soon as he laid eyes on Cassius, his eyes went wide with recognition. "You," the kid exclaimed, "why are you here?!" The kid took a seat in front of Cassius, staring at him. Cassius stared back, etching every detail of the kid's face into his mind. He wanted to make sure he remembered the faces of everyone involved in the railcar incident. The teen looked like he still had some baby fat in his face. He looked as if he was toned, but still young enough to not be built.

"You have been read your rights, I assume?"

"Yes. It's not like this hasn't happened before." The kid crossed his arms in front of him, averted his gaze off to Cassius' left and curled in on himself, as if trying to hide from his interrogator. _Shit he's clamming up on me. I gotta get him to open up._

"What's your name, kid? And how come you're mixed up with this gang, this Coumarine Crew?" As Cassius asked his questions, he leaned in slightly to let the kid get a better look at him. _To get some, I gotta give a little._ Cassius softened his gaze just before the kid tossed him a sideways glance.

"Shouldn't you already know this before you come into an interrogation?"

Cassius tossed him a smirk and said, "I prefer to learn about a person firsthand. A file doesn't tell me what kind of person you are, just what you've done. I want an unbiased opinion of you." As he was saying this, he looked right at the kid. The kid relaxed his arms a bit, lowering them slightly and his face began to soften. _Typical misunderstood kid._

He turned his head to face Cassius and said, "My name is Jason Dryer. And it's not like I joined the crew by choice." He looked down and away from Cassius, as if ashamed by his association with the crew. Cassius was beginning to suspect that the kid was being truthful. _Keep focused. I need this information._

"So how come you're with them? Are they forcing you to or holding something against you?"

Jason took in a deep breath and sighed. "They threatened me. They said that they would kill my mother if I didn't join up. They forced me into it." He shook his head, still looking down at the floor. "You gotta understand my mother works two jobs to keep us fed. I feel like shit doing this, but I have to do this to protect her. Whenever my mother looked at me before all of this, she was proud. Now she's disappointed in what I've become. I hate making her feel this way. But I can't get out. I'm stuck and I have no way of getting out."

Something inside of Cassius broke a little inside. He felt sorry for the kid and angry that the police let something like this happen. He wanted to help this kid so bad. This wasn't the first time that he's met someone who has joined a gang out of necessity, but this was ridiculous. _This kid's got some balls doing this. Doing something that he knew his mother would be disappointed in him for doing to protect her._

"I see. You're a brave kid for doing that. It's terrible that the police in this region haven't been able to get the gang problem taken care of." Cassius shook his head in disbelief. "We've failed you and the people of this town and for that I'm truly sorry." Jason looked at Cassius with wide-eyed amazement at the sound of his words, as if the kid had never been praised before. "I can tell that you're a good kid. I can cut you a deal here but that depends on how much you're willing to do for me."

Jason put up a front again. "There's always a catch, isn't there."

"Kid, I'm not going to lie. What I can do for you and your mom depends on what you can tell me. If you can tell me what I need to know, then I can promise you that I will get you and your mother relocated to a place safer than this. I will bring down the Coumarine Crew and I will get you out. I'll stick my neck out for you, but you gotta do this for me." As Cassius was saying this, he could tell that the kid began to soften up. _Come on kid, I'm counting on you giving me what I need to know._

Jason looked up and held Cassius' gaze. He no longer saw a teen trying to put up a front, but a frightened child who was looking for help. "All right, what you want to know," Jason asked with a sigh.

Now Cassius can finally begin to get some answers. "First, I want to know who it was that paid your gang to assassinate Gym Leader Ramos."

Jason let out a sigh and shook his head. "They didn't give us any of their names but they told us the name of their organization. Seven of their leaders came to our hideout to propose a deal with us. Help them to assassinate Ramos and they would pay us a lot of cash. I really didn't want to do this. Murder isn't something that we would normally do but our leaders, The Triad, decided that it was time to start branching out and showing the world that we were no longer a small time crew."

"Who was it that paid your gang to do this? I need the name of this organization if I am going to be able to help you."

Jason shuddered before he spoke. "They call themselves the Evolution Origin Movement. They didn't tell us why they call themselves that and that's all I know."

Cassius kept his gaze on Jason, trying to reassure him that he was safe to do this. "When did they approach your gang with this 'proposition'? Did they say why they needed Ramos dead?"

Jason shook his head. "They didn't tell us why they wanted him dead. Only The Triad knows why. But I can tell you that they came to us about a month ago with this proposition, so they're probably long gone by now." Jason paused to gather his thoughts, closing his eyes to decide what to say next. "The guy with black hair is Kita. He's the lieutenant for Faust, the blond haired man. The Triad doesn't publicize who they really are. Their Lieutenants take on the titles of Triad members to protect the leaders. The only reason I know this is because I have a knack for…eavesdropping. If you want to get the why, Faust would know."

Cassius smiled reassuringly at Jason and said "I promise I will get you and your mother into protective custody by the end of the night. I will get a police escort for you and your mother and we will get you guys out of here. But I want you to promise to tell your mother everything about why you joined the gang. She has a right to know."

Cassius stood up to leave when Jason spoke up. "Why do you care about me? Why, when everyone else has given up on me?"

Cassius looked him dead in the eyes and said "Because it's our job to keep the people of Kalos safe. I failed to keep you and your mother safe, so I will do everything in my power to help. There will be another officer coming in to ask a few more questions, but I want you to know that I am here to make things right whenever and wherever I can. And I'm going to start with you."


	6. The Snake's Head

Chapter 5

The Snake's Head

Walking out of the interrogation room, Cassius was met with a scowling Ryodan. "What the hell was that about?!" He looked pissed off. _Shit, did my promise really seem too much for him?_

Cassius steeled himself for the storm of backlash. "What do you think I was doing? I'm doing my job. I got the information that you needed. You heard that kid's story. If we were doing our jobs properly, that kid wouldn't have to do what he did and get in this situation! The Kalos region as a whole has been in chaos for years with all of these gangs running rampant! And what have we been able to do? Put away a few of the gang members, but not whole gangs!" Cassius paused to take in a calming breath and to straighten out his thoughts. "If I can help even just one person get out of this situation, I damn well will. I've decided that the men I requested to aid me in my job would be better utilized on this case. Use them as the police escort I promised this kid."

Cassius looked back at the kid sitting in the interrogation room on the verge of tears. He turned to look back at Chief Ryodan and said, "Don't let that kid lose faith in us. Once the people of the region lose faith in us, that's when the bad guys finally win." Chief Ryodan was silent and looked back at the teen.

Cassius took the initiative to storm past Chief Ryodan towards the break room. Before he could sit in the interrogation room with Faust, he had to let the other cop do the follow-up questions with Jason. Once that was over, Jason would be moved and Faust would be brought in. Cassius remembered how impassive Faust looked: stone cold. _That Faust guy ain't gonna be easy to crack._

He marched down the hallway through the bullpen and strode into the break room. A small table sat in the corner of the room with some empty Styrofoam cups sitting on top. On the counter sat an old coffee maker with a full pot of coffee. As Cassius advanced over to it, his nose cringed in disgust. _God, can anyone here make coffee without burning it?_

Cassius grabbed the pot and dumped it out, rinsing out any traces of the offensive liquid. He rummaged through the cupboards to find some coffee filters and ground coffee. He walked over to the brewer and set about making something much less toxic than this black Muk (no offense meant to the actual Pokemon).

The machine gurgled to life, beginning the process of creating what Cassius would hope to be liquid gold. Although with the lack of any decent ground coffee, pulling that off would take a miracle. He poured himself a cup. He liked his coffee different ways depending on the time of day. When he needed to work late, he always took it black. And this was definitely looking like it was gonna be a long night.

Not even before he could take a sip of his get-up-and-go juice did someone come rushing in and knock his coffee all over his shirt. Cassius hissed as the hot beverage stung his chest, biting back a string of curses. He looked up at the prime offender to see another young cop holding a file in one hand and fear written all over his face.

"I…am…so sorry. Chief Ryodan asked me to get the file for the blond haired guy for you. Says you should look it over before the interrogation." The cop warily put his hand out and extended the folder as if it were a peace offering. Cassius closed his eyes, taking in a deep and calming breath. He exhaled then grabbed the folder. Once he held the folder in his possession, the cop rushed out of there like a Zubat out of hell.

Cassius placed his now empty coffee cup on the counter with the file; he then set about to find a towel to dry off with.

"Shit, this is gonna stain." Thankfully, Cassius still had his clothing bags out in the car, so he could just change into a different shirt.

Cassius walked back to his cup and proceeded to pour himself another cup then strode over to the table. He cleared it of the debris, tossing the cups into the trash. He situated himself in one of the chairs, getting comfortable. He opened the folder to start his research before the interrogation.

The guy's real name is Alexander Malor, but goes by the alias of Faust. He's 25 years old and has a rap sheet a mile long. He's been in and out of juvenile correctional facilities from ages 14 to 17, then began to take numerous vacations to city prisons for the past 6 years. He has been able to elude arrest for the past two years. That is until grandfather helped to put him away just recently. Paperwork says that they were all released due to lack of forensic evidence. _Seriously? Lack of Forensic Evidence, my ass! They probably have someone they're paying off to make it easier for them to get out._

Faust's crimes are numerous, ranging from theft to breaking and entering to, just recently, aggravated assault. It seems that the Coumarine Crew has been steadily escalating their crimes over the past few years. The assault that he was charged with recently left the poor mother in the hospital for numerous broken bones.

He flipped to another page of the file. It was the report on the assault. Faust and Kita had both been present, but Faust was the one who was beating the mother. Kita was holding back her 5-year-old son. Faust wanted the woman's wedding ring, but the woman wouldn't give it up. It was all that she had left to remember her late husband by: a cop who was killed in the line of duty.

Cassius closed the file, no longer wanting to read about the sins of this monster. His heart ached at the loss of the woman and the trauma of the young boy. Cassius downed the last of his coffee and sped out to his car. He opened the back door and started to rummage through his bags for a clean shirt.

BOOM! As he was pulling on a clean blue shirt over his torso, an explosion burst from the side of the police station. Cassius whipped his head around to see the fire and smoke rising from the building. He saw four shadows by the forest line. He couldn't make out any distinguishing features other than the fact that there were two men and two women. Their Pokemon, however, were closer to the destruction. They were illuminated by the light of the flames. He could make out a Darmanitan, an Absol, a Crawdaunt, and a Rhyperior. Cassius looked back to the flames to see Faust and Kita stepping out with the Drapion Kita had used earlier in the attack and a Beartic that he assumed to be Faust's. Cassius reached for his Pokeballs and was about to release them when Faust looked over towards him.

The killing intent behind that stare was so strong that it literally paralyzed Cassius. The fear he felt from his heart was overwhelming. _What's wrong with me?!_ The two men walked towards the four shadows. Each one returned their Pokemon, then walked away into the shadowy forest. They escaped.

Cassius stood there in shock. Never had something like this happened to him in previous cases. Never had a suspect gotten away from him. He failed. He couldn't put away the bad guy.

He was too far gone in shock to initially hear the screams and pleas for help, but he soon snapped out of it. He rushed back inside to the police station to see that nearly all of the officers were unconscious. The ones not unconscious were limping around, grabbing whatever they could to put out the fires. He began to hear the sirens of the fire department wailing in the distance.

It was hours before all of the fire was put out. Most of the police force had been injured during the explosion, with the exception of Cassius, Chief Ryodan, a few of the officers, and Jason. Injuries ranged from minor concussions to broken bones. So much wanton and catastrophic destruction.

Cassius was beating himself up about it all. He saw the group responsible for everything and he couldn't do anything. All he could do was stand there and shake in fear. _That man…scares me._ Just remembering how Faust had looked at him had given him chills. The murderous intent that caused him to stop dead in his tracks was a feeling that he had never felt before and hoped he would never feel again.

Cassius walked away from the station to sit on the hood of his car. Cassius was so far out of it that he never noticed Chief Ryodan approach him. "Kid, you need to go home. If my memory serves me right, then your ward will be showing up here tomorrow. We got this taken care of."

Cassius didn't argue. He was too exhausted from the night's events to even say a word. He nodded in agreement and got into his car. Before he drove off to his hotel, though, he just sat there. His mind was just replaying the evening's scene over and over, reminding him that he had failed in his duty to put the bad guys away. His overconfidence in his own skill and complacency is what caused this disaster.

The sky was clear at the Coumarine Harbor. The sun had barely risen above the horizon. A gentle breeze flowed through the cool, brisk air. The ships bobbed lazily in the harbor as the waves broke against the port walls. Patriot was perched in a nearby tree, waiting with his Trainer for their charge to arrive.

Cassius took in a deep breath, the salty air slightly burning his nose. He barely slept at all the night before. He'd never been scared into inaction before. It was obvious that the Coumarine Crew is a much bigger threat than he had originally believed. He assumed that the other four people were the rest of the Triad and their Lieutenants. But he couldn't focus on them now. He had a job to do.

Cassius gazed intently towards the harbor. The ship ferrying his ward would be arriving very soon. Cassius wondered what kind of a personality this Dr. Stone had. They were very similar in age, but considering the field of study the doctor specialized in it was a safe bet to assume that the doctor was going to be very mature.

"Patriot, can you see anything in the distance? This guy is taking way too long to show up."

He looked up to see Patriot intently gaze in the distance. After a few moments, Patriot gave nodded as if saying yes. Still, even if Patriot had seen the boat, it would at least be another hour before it arrived. Who knows, maybe even two. Cassius pulled his cellphone out to check the time. It was nine o'clock. Cassius let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Might as well have some fun while I wait."

Cassius grabbed the rest of the Pokeballs on his waist and released the rest of his Pokemon.

"How about we play for a while, guys?"

After an hour of extreme tag, in which Cassius was zapped and nearly set on fire, the ferry boat finally arrived. Cassius stepped back to the tree that had the sign he made with the good Doctor's name on it. He went over to the docking area and held it up so that his ward would see the sign. A constant stream of people passed by, until there was just a trickle of people left.

Cassius was just about to say screw the whole sign thing when a man walked up to him. He was just slightly shorter than him with shining jet black hair. The man smiled, laugh lines making an appearance on his tanned skin.

"Hello. I believe that you're here to pick me up?"

Cassius was taken aback at the man. He dressed in khaki cargo pants and a white button up shirt. His work vest was disheveled like his hair. He reached up to push his long hair back out of his face. _Okay. Not the type of person that I expected._

"Uh, yes. I'm Detective Cassius Proctor. I'll be the one escorting you across the region on your expedition."

The Doctor looked him up and down, his eyes scanning Cassius as if he were sizing him up. "Well they sure did send a cutie to be my bodyguard. I'll have to thank Diantha for that."

Cassius' eyes went wide with shock. _Okay, definitely not what I expected._ Cassius turned to look at Anubis and Patriot snickering in the background, while Cerberus looked dumbstruck. Flash just rolled his eyes and started to groom himself. Cassius turned back to see the stunning green eyes of the young Doctor.

_ This is gonna be a long assignment. _


	7. It's Just a Drink

Chapter 6

It's Just a Drink

"Excuse me," Cassius questioned. The good Doctor just flashed him another grin

"Never mind. Oh, look at me; I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Professor Darren Stone, leading authority in Pokepology." Professor Stone extended a hand to shake with. Cassius, not wanting to be rude, grasped the man's hand and gave it a brief shake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm sorry to cut this whole introduction short, but we should get you over to the Police Station. Police Chief Ryodan wanted to be sure to meet you before we went out on your expedition."

Professor Stone flashed him another quick smile.

"Of course! Just give me a moment to collect my belongings. I'll just be a moment."

The Professor began walking briskly towards the baggage claim area to pick up his luggage. While waiting for him to get back, Cassius decided to take another brief visual sweep of the area. He turned his head back in the direction that Professor Stone strode off towards and saw him walking back with a large rucksack and a Snivy.

This puzzled Cassius. _I don't remember reading about him having a Snivy._ Cassius looked back to his Pokemon and motioned them forward to his side.

"So these must be your Pokemon," Darren exclaimed. "They look like you've trained them really well."

Anubis, loving the praise that he received, barked in approval and puffed out his chest in an attempt to look buff. The others were less…vocal…about how much they appreciated the praise. Nonetheless, they all smiled and nodded in approval.

"Yes, they are. They're my family and partners. We've been through a lot and put a lot of bad guys away. You're in safe hands with us." _Just reassuring this man that we can keep him safe._

"Yes and what strong hands they look to be. So, how are we getting there?"

Again, Cassius was thrown for a loop with this blatant advance. All he could do was just smile and deal with it.

"I have my car just around the corner. It's just a short walk over this way."

Before continuing on, Cassius returned all of his Pokemon. He looked back at the Professor, motioning for him to follow.

"I just have a quick question. Is that your Snivy? I don't remember being briefed on this new addition to your team."

Professor Stone looked down to the Snivy before answering.

The Snivy smiled brightly up at its Trainer with a boisterous "Sni!"

"Yes, her name is Rhea. She was given to me by Professor Juniper. My last research trip took me to Unova and I played a bit with the Pokemon at her lab when I was taking breaks. She became a bit attached and the day I left Professor Juniper insisted I take her along with me. That was a few days ago."

_ Alright. Guess that explains the lapse in intel.  _ They began to walk down the street for a little bit before rounding the left corner at a four-way stoplight. After walking for a few more minutes they made it back to Cassius' navy blue Honda CR-V. He motioned for Professor Stone to move towards the trunk. Cassius opened the trunk, slipped the ruck sack off of the Professor's back, and tossed the bag in the trunk. As he was closing the trunk, he noticed the Professor looked a bit dumbstruck.

"Is there a problem, Professor?"

The Professor picked his jaw back up off of the ground and gave a few rapid blinks before responding.

"Uh, no. Just…you moved so fast! I barely even noticed you lift my bag off my shoulders! Color me impressed," Professor Stone mused.

"Uh huh…" was all that Cassius could respond with.

They both hopped into the car and buckled up. The Professor's quiet Snivy sat in his lap taking a nap.

-.-.-

After about ten minutes of silence in midday rush hour traffic, Cassius decided to strike up conversation. It was awkward enough with the guy hitting on him nearly every time he spoke, but the silence was even worse.

"So what exactly is Pokepology anyway? I've never heard of that branch of science before. Is it new?"

Cassius' interest was genuine. He tried to keep up with the scientific community as much as possible, what with new discoveries in species, evolutions, and breeding happening every day.

Professor Stone looked at Cassius with something that resembled pleasant surprise. It seemed that not many people took interest in his work. So the enthusiasm in his voice when explaining what his field of study was didn't surprise Cassius.

"Pokepology is the study of interaction between humans and Pokemon and how each influences one another. For example, some of Eevee's evolutions depend on the bond it has with its Trainer. If the Eevee's bond is strong and it's during the day when it finally evolves, it will become an Espeon. To gain an Umbreon, the time of day is switched. If there is a strong love between the trainer and Eevee and it knows a move that is classified under the Fairy-type then it will evolve into the newly discovered Sylveon. The same applies to the newly discovered Mega Evolution."

"But doesn't that just involve the right stones for the right Pokemon to Mega Evolve," Cassius interjected. "How does a strong bond between a Trainer and Pokemon factor into the Evolution process?"

"Well, to facilitate the evolution process there needs to be a strong bond. That bond catapults the Pokemon into a further state of temporary evolution that is only attainable under the proper conditions," Professor Stone stated matter-of-factly. "But kudos to you for knowing what is necessary for Mega Evolution. It's still relatively new to the scientific community and not much of the public knows about the whole process."

"Well, I try to keep up with world news. Plus, I used to be a Pokedex holder for Professor Sycamore when I was a child," Cassius said. "I really didn't pay much attention to his talks on Mega Evolution. I was too focused on trying to become the Champion."

The Professor looked down at his sleeping Snivy, then to Cassius.

"How did that end up for you?"

Cassius looked back at the Professor with a somber timbre in his words.

"I made it all the way to the Elite Four with just three Pokemon. Then I stopped."

"Why?"

Cassius Looked back at his ward, debating with himself on whether he should tell him or not.

"That's a story for another time."

-.-.-

After another twenty minutes of small talk, they finally made it to the station.

Everything was still a mess from the night before. The section of the building that was blown to pieces was cordoned off, crime tape separated the onlookers and personnel not needed in the area. Bricks from the building and pieces of furniture had been launched all the way to the tree line from the force of the explosion. Burnt papers and files were scattered everywhere in the open.

_ God, I hope they went digital with their files or they're all screwed. _

CSI's were all over the site of the explosion, trying to determine its source location and how it had been started. Residue samples of the explosion were being taken for further testing, photographs of the scene were being captured, and insurance agents made an appearance to determine how much of the gaping hole in the wall would be covered under the government and how much they could leech from the government pockets.

"What the hell happened here," Professor Stone queried, stepping out of the SUV.

Cassius had flashbacks to the previous night: the deafening sound of the explosion, the blinding flash of light, and the flames flailing in the dark. But the memory that stood out the most was the face of that bastard Faust.

"Nothing you need to worry about. It's need to know." Cassius shut his door.

Cassius led Professor Stone and Rhea the Snivy past the mess and through the front doors. It was like trying to maneuver through an obstacle course to get to Chief Ryodan's office. Cassius rapped on the door three times.

"Who is it," The gruff voice asked.

"Chief Ryodan, it's Detective Proctor. I'm here with the Professor like you asked me this morning."

There was the sound of rummaging behind the door. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor was audible behind the barricade. Footsteps could be heard making their way to the door. A second later the door was open and the Chief stood in front of Cassius.

In just one night's time, the man looked like he had physically aged another ten years. The bags under his eyes sagged. The Chief scratched at his beard and pushed a hand through the tangled mess of hair on his head.

_ Had he been here all night working? _

Cassius felt a pang of guilt at what had been left in the wake of his incompetence. He began to question what would have happened if he had even attempted to apprehend the escapees. Could he have been able to stop them? Was there any plausible and safe way of detaining the convicts had he won in battle against them? What would have happened if he lost?

"Come in. Excuse the mess. It's been a busy night."

Cassius, Professor Stone, and Rhea stepped into the office. In a single night, the tidy office became a monument of chaos and disorder. Papers were haphazardly strewn all across the desk. The pictures and awards on the walls were still crooked from the explosion.

"So, you're the Professor. You seem to be rather young for the title, aren't you?"

Cassius noticed that the question was poised to gauge the response of Professor Stone. He viewed this as an understandable move due to recent events.

_ You can never be too careful,  _ Cassius thought to himself.

"No more so than Detective Proctor is for his position, sir," Professor Stone responded.

A smile appeared on Chief Ryodan's work weary face.

"You've got a quick wit. I like that." He extended his hand to offer a shake. "I'm Coumarine City's Police Chief Horatio Ryodan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Professor Stone clasped the other man's hand and gave it a brief shake.

"The pleasure's all mine. Now may I ask why you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Before we get to that, why not take a seat?" Chief Ryodan motioned to the chairs opposite his desk. Cassius and the Professor took their seats. Rhea hopped into the Professor's lap.

"I want you to tell me what happened the last time someone attempted to kidnap you. I've been informed that there have been numerous attempts and that they're from the same individual."

Professor Stone inhaled a sharp breath. A subject such as this was a touchy one and having to relive it made it that much more terrifying. But the Professor took control of his nerves and nodded his demeanor calm once again.

"It was a few days before I left the Unova region. I was researching some ruins in the desert when I was attacked by a Bisharp. There was a sandstorm raging around us, so I couldn't immediately identify where its Trainer was. I called out my little Mekhos and battled the Bisharp while trying to reach Route 4. I knew that as soon as I made it back there, where there were other people, I'd be able to escape and get help."

"What gave you the idea that he would stop once you got to a populated area," Chief Ryodan inquired.

"I know because I've been attacked by the very same Bisharp before. It belongs to my would-be kidnapper," Professor Stone stated.

The Chief and Cassius perked up at this.

"So you know who it is that's been trying to kidnap you all this time," Cassius asked.

Professor Stone looked at him and nodded.

"I've never been able to get a good look at his face. He keeps it hidden under a hood every time he tries to capture me. He uses the same Pokemon for every attempt."

"Can you describe anything else? What he wears or what he sounds like," the Chief queried.

"He wears big leather boots. I think they're black. His pants are a dark blue. His jacket is the same shade. He wears leather gloves, too. I assume to hide any fingerprints. He's very agile and very strong. Oh, and he wears an old looking bracelet with a rainbow stone in the center of it."

As the Professor was rattling off details that he thought might help identify his pursuer, Chief Ryodan was writing everything down.

After the interview was over, Chief Ryodan assured the Professor that a BOLO would be issued for the Hooded Man as soon as possible. The Professor breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, so much. I feel a bit more at ease now, what with the police looking for him and being given a handsome bodyguard to watch over me."

The Chief took notice at that last comment and looked back and forth between the Detective and the Professor. Then he smiled at Cassius. A mischievous smile filled with all of the "I'm going to enjoy watching this train wreck" and "where's my popcorn" stretched across his face. Cassius could only blush with frustration at the Chief. Cassius had to get out of there and FAST!

"Well, Professor, we better get going. You still need to check-in at your hotel and get some rest. I'm sure your journey has been very tiring."

The Professor looked back up at Cassius. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Off we go then!"

When the door closed behind them, Cassius could swear he heard the Chief howl with laughter.

_ Geez, at least wait until we're out of earshot! _

Cassius looked over to see if the Professor heard anything. He didn't show any signs of whether he did or not, so Cassius just didn't ask. That was a can of worms that he didn't want to try to clean up.

They worked their way through the maze of what was left of the bullpen, stepping out into the midafternoon sun. As they were striding towards the car, the Professor looked up at him.

"So how about we go hit up the bar tonight? Get better acquainted with each other?"

Cassius stopped in mid-stride, nearly as frozen as he had been last night.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, since we'll be stuck with each other for the next few months, we might as well start getting comfortable around each other."

Cassius tried to swallow down his discomfort, but his mouth was too dry for such a thing to happen. Cassius reached for his car keys to unlock the door.

"I don't think it would be for the best. We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow and we need to rest."

The Professor stuck out his lower lip in what looked to be the most well practiced pout Cassius had ever seen.

"It's just a drink," he whined. "If you want, we can have a curfew. How about midnight?"

Cassius considered this. He didn't want to go out and he knew that he shouldn't. But the Professor was right. They had to live with each other for the next few months and if they didn't get along, the whole thing would be hell.

Cassius sighed in defeat. He had to concede to the offer, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a complete lack of control over the situation.

"Fine, but the curfew will be 9. And I will not be drinking. I'll be on duty, technically."

"How about 10 and you do a shot and let me buy you a beer?"

_ Sheesh, he really wants to "bond". _

Cassius considered the offer.

"Fine, but we get the shot out of the way as soon as we get there. If I'm driving, I have to be as sober as possible."

"Deal."

-.-.-

After going back to the hotel and getting the Professor checked in to his room, they headed for a local bar called the Dizzy Spinda. It was a little hole in the wall bar, but it felt comfortable to Cassius. The bartenders and patrons were all amiable, even to the two newcomers. The bar was closer to the back of the joint and there were a multitude of tables strewn throughout the building.

They walked over to an empty table and sat down to look over the menus. After a few minutes, a very pretty waitress sauntered over.

"What can I get you gentlemen tonight?" she said in her most sultry voice. Cassius could tell she was flirting for tips and that she was a pro at it. Too bad for her it wouldn't work on either man, even if it were for separate reasons.

Cassius was about to order when Professor Stone interjected.

"We'll need two shots of your best Fire Blast whiskies and then two Umbreon Moon Beers."

The waitress whipped out her notepad and pen and scrawled down the order.

"Anything else you might want? I can say for sure that we have some of the best wings in town!"

The Professor furrowed his brow in consideration before giving the affirmative to place that down on their order. Cassius just looked over at him, an eyebrow cocked up in his direction.

"Well, you seem to be pretty into this tonight. You wouldn't even let me order my own drinks," Cassius stated, slightly flustered.

"Well of course! I'm treating tonight. Besides, you didn't specify what kind of shots or beer you wanted, so I ordered what I normally get. Is that alright?"

Cassius huffed. "It would probably be better in the future, Professor Stone, to be more communicative about the affairs of food and alcohol. You're lucky that what you usually order is what I usually order."

The Professor smiled back at the detective.

"Duly noted. But please, could you stop calling me Professor? I'd prefer it if you could call me Darren; allows us to be a bit friendlier towards each other."

Cassius nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. Like you said before, we're gonna be together for a while. Feel free to call me Cassius."

Darren's brow furrowed in consideration, trying to make a choice.

"Cassius is a bit of a mouthful. How about Cas?"

Cassius nodded in agreement, assenting to the use of the nickname. A few moments passed before their drinks and wings showed up. Darren picked up his shot glass and motioned that Cassius follow suit.

"I propose a toast to the two of us having a safe and successful journey," Darren proclaimed.

Cassius nodded in assent. They clinked their shots together, tapped the glasses on the table and drank. The name of Fire Blast Whiskey isn't just a name. Cassius' throat burned as if a Magmar was truly breathing a Fire Blast down his esophagus.

He and Darren finished their shots, simultaneously placing their glasses on the table. A tingling sensation from the alcohol ran down his spine, causing Swanna-bumps to pop up all over his body. Cassius reached for his beer to chase down the whiskey, while Darren began to eat some of the wings.

The rest of the night consisted of some more small talk about the proposed route of travel, though that conversation didn't last long once Darren saw the dart board.

"Can we play a round?" he asked.


	8. The Morning After

Chapter 7

The Morning After

The single dart game that evening ended up becoming five games. A single beer and a shot become another two shots and a few more beers. Cassius realized that he was beginning to enjoy Darren's company. He was a funny guy who took pleasure in the simple things. The smile on his face when Cassius was teaching him how to play darts was nice to see. It had been a while since anyone last smiled on the job.

Cassius began to realize that time was passing a lot faster than it should have and began to shoo Darren out to the car. Darren wobbled whimsically out the door with Cassius following behind. But before he left, Cassius made sure to leave a big tip for his waitress in the tip jar.

Cassius saw Darren trying, and failing, to stay upright on his way to the car. Cassius sighed in surrender and threw Darren over his shoulders. Cassius could drink with the best of them so tonight's drinking was light for him, but obviously wasn't for Darren. After reaching the car, he placed his ward in the passenger seat and closed the door, walking his way around the car to his own side. He saw Darren silently sleeping away as soon as he was in his own seat. Cassius shook his head.

_ The guy talks big game, but he can't handle his own alcohol, _ he scoffed.

Cassius reached over and buckled Darren in, then proceeded to drive to their hotel. The sound of the engine churning away didn't even phase Darren's restful sleep. Cassius looked over at the clock and saw that it was two in the morning.

"Crap, tomorrow is gonna suck."

Their evening excursion had gone on too long. Waking up in the morning was going to be hell and time was already of the essence.

_ The sooner that this is over, the better. I can't be wasting time working like a bodyguard when my father may very well be out there. _

Cassius looked back over to Darren to find that he had turned his back away from him in the seat, still silently snoring away the night. Cassius smirked a little bit then focused back on the road ahead of them.

After a couple of minutes on the road, Cassius could see the hotel. He pulled into the parking lot. He stepped out of the car and proceeded to scoop Darren out of the car to take him back to his room. Cassius didn't have Darren's room key and didn't have the heart to wake him up for it. He strode through the lobby and up the stairs to his room, opening the door.

The room was painted in a multitude of greens, ranging from pastel to forest green. Green was a color that resonated with Cassius, especially emerald green.

The queen size bed lay in front of the entertainment system and television, the dark green blankets of the bed complimented by the dark wood finish of the frame. Off to the side was a couch stitched with patterns of falling leaves and a coffee table of a lighter, rustic wood before it. The room was calming, soothing. Cassius was glad to get this room.

He strode over to the bed and laid Darren down. He pulled off the young doctor's shoes and placed the watch Darren wore on the coffee table. Cassius pulled the sheets over Darren, tucking him in like a father would his child. Cassius went into the bathroom to change and clean himself up before he went to bed. Time would be limited in the morning, so shaving and brushing teeth needed to be done.

_ All I'd have time for would be a quick shower tomorrow morning. _

After all hygienic habits had been taken care of, Cassius changed into his pajamas and grabbed one of the spare blankets kept in the small closet. He hopped onto the couch for a good night's rest.

-.-.-

"Go away, Bob, and give me another hour," Darren moaned as he pulled the blankets over his head.

Bob (Big Orange Ball) was shining brightly through the curtains, sending shooting pangs of sunlight into Darren's skull. Hangovers were never pleasant for Darren. Not now, not ever.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. It's already past seven and we need to hit the road soon."

Darren's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that voice. That voice wasn't supposed to be in his room. That voice should have been in the room across the hall.

Slightly panicked, Darren ventured his head out from underneath the blankets to find that he wasn't in his own room of ocean and sky blues, but of varying shades of green. Realization struck Darren as hard as the train wreck hangover.

_ Did I sleep with Cas last night? _

Darren swiveled his head around to find the glistening form of Cassius stepping out of the bathroom in only pajama pants. Darren blushed violently. What was worse is that Cassius seemed to notice Darren's minor panic.

"You were conked out last night from all the alcohol, Darren. You were already passed out by the time we got back here. I didn't want to wake you up for your room key, so I just plopped you on my bed while I took the couch."

Darren didn't realize that he was holding his breath until after his sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Darren quickly recomposed himself as much as he could in front of a man of muscle and nodded.

"Thanks for that."

Cas flashed a quick smile in response and nodded.

"I'm gonna wash up my Pokemon before I pack. I planned on leaving no later than nine. It's already seven, so you've got two hours to do what you have to before we ship out to Shalour City."

Darren nodded in response and proceeded to try to calmly leave the room. As soon as he was back in his own room, he let the cool guy façade disappear. Darren went over to the bed and began to shake his Pokemon awake. Rhea was the easiest to rise since she was so young, but Totem, his Sigilyph, was ever so resilient to early mornings. Kuina, his Braviary, and Mekhos, his Rotom, woke with only minor issues.

"Alright, guys, it's time to get ready. I've got two hours to make myself look human, clean you guys, and pack up. Everyone up and into the shower!"

The brood of Pokemon rushed into the bathroom, stampeding over Darren like a herd of Bouffalant. All his Pokemon were sitting around the tub, waiting for them to get clean. Darren shook his head at them all and began washing his Pokemon.

Kuina was the simplest to clean. All Darren had to do was take a damp washcloth and wipe down her feathers. Kuina cooed while Darren ran the warm cloth over her soft down. Once he was done wiping her clean, Kuina hopped onto the toilet seat to preen her feathers, her beak clacking away at the loose feathers.

Totem was just as simple to clean up. Use a warm, damp cloth to wipe down the feathers and let Kuina preen him since he didn't have a discernable mouth to do so. It was an odd bonding experience for the two of them, but Kuina was a very motherly sort of Pokemon. She always wanted to help clean and take care of the younger members of the team.

Mekhos, being living plasma, wasn't allowed to be washed in water due to the risk of electrocuting everyone. So he was wiped down with a static inhibiting cloth to keep him clean without shocking Darren.

Rhea, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated. She was a cold-blooded Grass-type Pokemon, so even lukewarm water was intolerable to her. She was very picky about the water temperature. Once Darren got the water to the right warmth, Rhea jumped right on in. She splashed water everywhere, nearly soaking Mekhos and short-circuiting him. Once Darren got her to calm down, he scrubbed her clean. He made sure to pay a little more attention to her tail since she made a habit of letting it drag in the dirt so see the shapes she could draw.

Darren lifted her out of the tub and towel dried her. She squirmed in the towel, making life a little more difficult than it should be, and then jumped out of his arms. She ran around the room after flinging the towel off. Darren grabbed the towel and chased her down to finish drying her off. Once that was done, he got the "kids" together and gave them their marching orders.

"Alright guys, we're going to be leaving soon so I need you all to do something for me. I need you to pick up this room and pack up as much as you can while I take a shower. We've now got about an hour and a half to meet Cas for breakfast," he said while looking at the clock on the wall.

_ Who is this "Cas" that you speak of? _

Darren looked back at Totem to give him his answer before he heard a knock on his door. Darren looked over, surprised at the early morning intrusion. He walked over to the peephole to see Cas standing outside. Darren composed his flirtatious and outgoing façade before he answered.

"Hey there," Darren smiled, "I thought that I had a bit more time before I had to see you again."

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I was gonna pack up my stuff in the car. I thought that I should tell you to meet up in the lobby when you were ready so that we could get some breakfast."

Darren's heart skipped a small beat. He shouldn't be this elated to have breakfast, especially with a man that was only there to guard him and nothing more. But Darren's imagination was always running rampant.

_ Ever the romantic. Why am I even falling for this guy? Sure he's gorgeous, caring, and downright likable but he's probably not even interested in me! _

But all Darren could do was respond with a nod and a smile. The word "yes" seemed to be caught in his throat at the moment and refused to become unstuck.

"Great. See you at breakfast." Cas smiled, again making Darren's heart flutter with that handsome grin.

Darren closed the door and turned back to Totem.

"That was Cas," he said flatly.

_ Did you stay with him last night? _

The bluntness of the question and the sheer implications behind it caused Darren to splutter out of shock. Then Darren looked straight into Totem's eyes and responded.

"We went out for a few drinks last night. I drank a little too much and apparently passed out on the way back. He didn't want to wake me up so he just tucked me into his bed. That's all."

_ Alright. _ And Totem just left it at that. No interrogation, no prying. That was what Darren grew to love about Totem. Once you answered the question, he left it alone and that was what Darren needed.

"Alright everyone, you know what needs to be done. Once I'm finished cleaning myself up, I'll help you guys out."

Everyone responded with sounds of acknowledgment and went to work. Darren stepped into the shower that he had been longing for all morning, ready to enjoy the scalding hot water to relax his nerves and his returning headache.

-.-.-

Darren got out of the shower to find that his Pokemon had actually finished packing without him. They packed up everything, including the clothes that Darren laid out for himself before they went to the bar last night.

_ Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. _

Darren rummaged through the packed luggage, looking for some clothes. In his haste, he pulled out some clean underwear and his brown corduroy pants. After pulling them over his legs he set out to find his favorite burgundy sweater. He hastily shoved his head through the collar and his arms through the sleeves. He went back into the bathroom to grab one of his hair ties to pull back his wavy brown mane of hair. He looked in the mirror for a quick once over and realized that his father's watch was missing from his wrist.

"Shit!"

That watch had been a gift from his late father. It was a nice watch. It wasn't incredibly flashy, but classier. The feel of the leather band wrapped around his wrist made him feel that his father was still around. The watch brought him the same comfort that his father could do with a smile or hug.

Darren rushed out into the room, frantically running around to find the watch. He dug through his luggage. The poor linens were ripped off the bed and shaken down more than a suspected shoplifter. He got down on his hands and knees and couldn't find it anywhere.

_ I lost it. I lost my father's watch. _


	9. Lost and Found

Chapter 8

Lost and Found

Cassius sat in the lobby waiting for Darren to meet him for breakfast. Anubis and Cerberus were running around outside in the shining sun playing while Patriot kept a watchful eye on them. Flash lay curled up at his feet, purring like a motorcycle as Cassius stroked his head.

Cassius couldn't help but smile at Flash, reminiscing on the days of when he was a little Shinx. Flash looked back up at him and grinned, nudging his thigh for more love. _Ferocious on the outside, kindly as a kitten on the inside._

"You know you're nothing but an adorably large Skitty, right?"

Flash's grin got even wider and his fur sparked, giving Cassius a shock. His arm went into a minor spasm, flapping up and smacking him in the face. He gave his blue fur ball a death glare that could peel paint off the wall. Flash gave an awkward smile that showed he was remorseful, so Cassius just let it go.

The sound of footsteps from the stairs caught his attention and he turned to see a down trodden Darren carrying his luggage. His Pokemon were following closely behind, looks of sadness on their face. _What's got them so down?_ Cassius stood as Darren approached. The look that Cassius saw in his eyes was so sad that he had to ask.

"What's wrong?"

Darren looked back up to unleash the full power of his pitiful look. _Oh god, this man is gonna be the death of me._

Cassius couldn't make out what it was that Darren said at first. He just gave the pouting man a look that implied he needed to speak up.

"I lost my late father's watch."

It felt like Cassius had been punched in the gut. He could understand how terrible it felt to lose a father. It feels just as bad when you lose one of their prized possessions.

"What did it look like?"

"It has a simple leather band with a golden watch face. I remember that I had it at the bar. Do you think that we could stop by to see if it's there?"

Cassius thought that would delay them even further. Then his memory smacked him in the face full force. _I took his watch off last night and forgot to pick it up!_

"Hold on. I think I might know where it is."

At that, Cassius ran back up the stairs to his room. He opened the door and quickly surveyed the room. He saw the precious watch left on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.

_ Goddamn, that was close. _

He quickly closed the distance to the table with long strides and snatched up the watch. He rushed out of the room and nearly tripped running down the stairs. He skidded to a stop in front of Darren and held up the watch for Darren to see.

"Here. I just remembered that I took it off of your wrist last night. I nearly forgot to return it to you."

A moment passed before sheer joy took over Darren's face. His smile lit up the whole room like as if the sun were breaking through the clouds in an overcast sky. He took the watch from Cassius and placed it back on his wrist. His face instantly calmed and his Pokemon seemed to brighten up. Cassius couldn't help but feel horrible about nearly losing his watch.

"I'm really sorry about almost losing your dad's watch."

Darren's hair fell in front of his face as he looked back up. His emerald green eyes caught Cassius' gunmetal blues in a minor trance. The happiness he exuded from his smile was amazingly intoxicating.

"That's alright. I have it back now and that's all that matters," he said, brushing his hair back out of his face. Cassius unknowingly returned the smile with one of his own.

Anubis, Cerberus and Patriot came barreling through the front door, ready to leave for breakfast. Their enthusiastic entrance caused them to run right into Cassius and knock him down on his ass.

_ And there goes the moment. _

Darren began to laugh as Cassius' Pokemon began a Lillipup pile with him on the bottom of all the love. After a few minutes of struggling Cassius got himself free. He brushed himself off and gave a once over of Darren's Pokemon.

Rhea, Darren's Snivy that he already met, was keeping close to Darren's leg. It seemed as if she was shy in such a large group. On Darren's other side was a Rotom, bobbing up and down with a jovial look on its face. Behind Darren were a Sigilyph and a Braviary.

_ He has the makings of a pretty solid team. They seem pretty well-cared for and they're happy with him. _

Darren noticed how Cassius looked over his Pokemon and began to splutter out introductions. He gestured to his Rotom and introduced him as Mekhos.

"This little guy was the one who protected me from the last attack. Behind me are Totem, my Sigilpyh, and Kuina, my first Pokemon."

"Kuina was your first?"

Darren nodded in affirmation.

"I've had her since she was a little Rufflet. She's been with me on every trip. I don't know what would happen if I ever lost her."

Cassius looked back at Patriot with a loving expression in his eyes. Cassius felt a bond of complete trust had been forged between the Professor and his Pokemon. A testament to a truly loving relationship between Pokemon and Trainer stood right before his very eyes and he couldn't help but smile again.

"Funnily enough, my first Pokemon was Patriot," he said as Patriot moved closer to his side.

"Really? That's quite a coincidence."

"He was a gift from my father. Patriot is one of my strongest battlers and has been with me since I started training. But we can talk more at breakfast. There's a café just around the corner and they're great with Trainers."

Darren nodded his assent and the brood of Pokemon and Trainers began walking towards the café. Cassius decided that the walk would be best, allowing all the Pokemon to interact. Kuina and Patriot were flying together jovially with each other. It's not often that Patriot gets to see more of his own species in Kalos, let alone a female. Anubis and Mekhos did what all young Pokemon do; they ran around in circles ahead of the group with Cerberus playing babysitter. Cassius was surprised that his lovingly dopey Houndoom was able to play the role of adult well. Rhea was keeping close to Darren's leg, shy and uncomfortable with the large group. Darren would look down every now and then to reassure her that she was fine. Totem floated close and would do his best to calm Rhea down with funny faces, but that would just make it a little worse. Flash stuck close to Cassius' side, his eyes darting around the scene. He was ever watchful. He knew instinctively that they were here to protect Darren from his would-be kidnappers.

_ Ever vigilant. He's on the prowl for anyone suspicious. _

After a few more minutes of walking they arrived at Celia's Café, a place that was famous in Coumarine City for the care that it gives to traveling Trainers. The building was large inside with tables scattered around. The patio was even larger with a view of the whole city. There were a few trainers sitting inside with their Pokemon bingeing on the delicious food. However, the patio was completely unoccupied.

"Let's head over to the patio. It's larger and unoccupied, so we'll have some privacy to discuss our route," Cassius said.

Darren nodded in assent and the whole lot of them moved around to the back. Not even a second passed before Cassius heard someone call out to him.

"Little Cas, is that you?!"

Cassius turned to the source of the noise to see his second mother, Celia. She had a smile that made anyone's bad day go away. Her curly blond locks bounced around with each step she took as her apron flowed with the wind, her blue dress beneath doing the same. Cassius couldn't help but hug her then and there. The embrace was comforting.

"How've you been? You here visiting your grandpa?"

"I'm fine, Celia. Work's been keeping me busy and it's actually the reason why I'm here."

Celia suddenly looked worried.

"Does it have anything to do with what happened to Ramos?"

Cassius' heart stuttered at the sound of his grandfather's name. He had a sudden reminder of what happened just a few days ago.

"No. I'm tasked with something different. The police here are taking point on that particular case. But don't worry, gramps is okay and so is his Gogoat."

Celia became relieved immediately when she heard the news.

"That's good. Well, what can I get ya?"

"I think we might need some menus first," Cassius said.

"Sure."

Celia led the group to a table and gave Darren and Cassius menus. She flashed them a quick smile and said that she would be back in a little bit to take their orders. Cassius called his Pokemon one by one to have them look at the menu and pick what they wanted, with Darren following suit. After making sure he knew what each of his companions craved he skimmed over the menu himself. It only took him a moment before he found his favorite eggs benedict with croissants. It wasn't too long before Celia returned to take their orders.

"Y'all ready ta order?"

"Yup. Anubis wants a bowl of Pecha and Nanab berries with a side of cream. Patriot wants the filet mignon because he's decided to burn a hole in my pocket. Flash wants a large order of Deerling bacon and Cerberus wants a plate of Grumpig chops. Oh, and I would like to have the eggs benedict with croissants and a cup of coffee. Cream and sugar please."

Celia nodded and turned to Darren.

"And for you, hun?"

"Kuina wants a ribeye steak, rare. Totem would love to have a bowl of your freshest berries. Rhea wants the cereal with chocolate milk instead of regular. Oh, and do you have a spare car battery for Mekhos?" Celia gave a quick nod. "Thank goodness. He gets that whenever he can. Oh, and I would like the pancakes with scrambled eggs."

Celia gave another quick nod, finished writing down what the party wante and left to put in the large group order. Cassius turned to Darren after Celia was out of earshot.

"So where is our first destination on this expedition?"

"Our first stop is going to be the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City. Mega Evolution was first discovered in that area of Kalos, so it would seem that would be the best place to get the most information."

"Great. Then after that? I would like to know your full route so that I can plan accordingly."

Darren just looked at Cassius and shrugged.

"I really haven't planned that far ahead. I'm more of a fly at the seat of my pants type."

Cassius' jaw dropped. His shock at the lack of Darren's forethought, especially in his current situation, hit him like a ton of bricks.

"What?!"

Darren just shrugged nonchalantly once more. His stone-faced expression did nothing but further baffle Cassius.

"There really aren't that many sources of information on Mega Evolution outside of the Tower of Mastery. Once I gather enough information there, I'll be able to get a better idea of possible research locations."

_ This guy is supposed to be one of the brightest minds of our generation and he has no plan? Again, this guy is gonna be the death of me! _

Cassius' only response to this was to shake his head in disagreement.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know how safe you'll be without a defined route. If I know where we are heading, then I could set up proper protective measures along our route."

"But then we could also be targeted. If everyone who is meant to protect me knows my route, then it's possible that my pursuers would know as well. To minimize that particular risk, I even don't plan any further than the first step in my travels."

Again, Cassius' jaw dropped to the floor. The logic behind his argument was valid, even though it went against all of Cassius' personal beliefs about safety.

"Alright, I give. This is _your_ expedition, after all. I don't like this, though."

Darren nodded in understanding. It was then that two young looking waitresses and a young waiter, who was struggling to carry a car battery alone, in plain clothes brought out all of their food. Kuina and Patriot began tearing apart their steaks; Flash and Cerberus tore into their bacon and chops. Totem began to eat away at his berries and Mekhos started to drain his battery. Anubis played with his berries by tossing them into the air and catching them in his mouth, while Rhea calmly ate her cereal away from the other Pokemon. Cassius looked back at his team to see if they were enjoying their meal. Once his curiosity was satisfied he decided to dig in.

The food was delicious, as he knew it would be. Celia owned one of the greatest cafes in all of Kalos. Reviews often hailed her cooking as some of the best and most affordable dishes around. Celia was very supportive of traveling Trainers, too. She ran a hostel above her restaurant in the off-chance that the rooms at the Pokemon Center were all full. If a Trainer needed to make some extra cash she would let them work for a couple of days doing odd jobs. She loved to help Trainers on their journeys, which was how Cassius had met her.

Cassius had just arrived in Coumarine City with very little money left, just enough to get any supplies that he would need and a single meal for his Pokemon, but not for himself. He ran across Celia's Café and went inside. Celia greeted him warmly, but when she took a second look she knew he was in a bind financially. She offered him a free room in her hostel and free meals if he worked at the café for a few days. She even promised to pay him a decent working pay. Those days were hard, but he got enough money in that week to cover his expenses for a while and a good friend.

As Cassius was reminiscing on the "good-ole days", Darren's gold watch flashed a glare in his eyes. Then curiosity got the better of him.

"What was your father like, Darren?"

Darren coughed on his mouthful of pancakes.


	10. A Traveling Twist

Chapter 9

 

A Traveling Twist

 

 

Darren finished choking on his pancakes, swallowing down what remained in his mouth. He expected Cassius to be a bit blunt; Cassius is a very emotive and direct person. However, his father was a touchy topic. The feelings of sadness welled up a little bit, but Darren pushed them down for another time.

 

“Well, what do you want to know,” Darren asked.

 

Cassius paused, his forehead scrunching up in thought.

 

_Oh, that's too adorable!_

Cassius looked back up to him, his face calm and cool.

 

“What did your father do? I mean, what kind of job did he have?”

 

_Oh thank god, a safe topic!_

 

“Oh. He was a regional manager for the Devon Corporation in Unova, like my mother. He was away a lot because of his job. Actually, he was the one who gave me Kuina when I was younger.” Kuina looked up from her meal at Darren when she heard her name. “She was a birthday present the one year that he could show up to my party. It's a lot of work to run an entire regional branch of one of the largest companies in the world, but he did everything he could to make sure that he was there to give me Kuina.” Kuina crooned affectionately towards Darren before returning to her meal.

 

Darren watched Cassius turn towards Patriot with a look of love and affection swimming across his face. He couldn't help but smile. The love Cassius radiated when looking at his cherished Pokemon was infectious, bringing about the same feelings in himself.

Cassius looked back to Darren with a happy chuckle escaping his lips.

 

_"_ Funny. That's pretty much how I got Patriot and Anubis.  They were both gifts from my father, too. I owe the relationship I have with them to him.” Patriot crooned over his food, savoring the taste of the tender filet mignon, as Anubis nuzzled into Cassius’ leg while eating his own breakfast. Cassius began recalling his early journey days to Darren, telling him about how Patriot evolved, how he got Anubis, and the nearly heart-breaking story of how Flash came to be his.

 

Darren couldn't remember the last time that he smiled like this. But just as soon as the mood began to lighten, a crashing noise rang down the street. Everyone looked up from their meals to see the source of the noise; it was a Rhyhorn running down the road.

 

Darren caught a glimpse of the Trainer. His brown hair flew back in the breeze; the gray V-neck shirt clung to his small frame. The crashing steps of the rock hard Pokemon thundered in his ears the closer it and its Trainer grew.

 

-.-.-.-

 

Cassius recognized the kid riding the Rhyhorn, but couldn't believe it. It was the Coumarine Crew kid just making a ruckus through the town!

 

_I thought this kid said he specialized in NOT being seen._

 

The kid stopped at the front of the café and slid off the top of his Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn nudged lovingly into the side of its Trainer before the kid returned it to its Pokeball. Cassius saw him walk up the steps into the café.

 

“Excuse me for a minute. I need to see someone about a possible noise complaint.”

He stood up and quickly told his Pokemon to stay and continue eating. He quickly strode back inside and looked around the main eating area. He caught a glimpse of the kid running around with an apron and tray serving the customers. Cassius waited until he finished serving the customers before he walked up to the kid. He grabbed the kid by the shoulder and turned him around.

 

“Didn't you say that you were an expert at being unnoticed,” Cassius growled.

 

The kid froze when he saw Cassius. He pulled back a bit, suddenly nervous around Cassius. Cassius paused for a moment, reigning in his frustration behind an ever thinning veil of patience.

 

“Your name is Jason, right? I talked to you a few nights ago at the station before…well, before it was blown up.”

 

Jason looked back up at Cassius with fear on his face. It didn't stay above the surface for long and was quickly hidden behind a plain faced mask. He nodded.

“Yeah. When the police dropped me off last night, my mom was pissed. Then she started crying and saying that she was just glad that I was safe. I….I told her everything right there and then. She ripped me a new one, but she said she was proud that I finally came to her about it.”

 

Cassius’ heart started to fill up with a bit of pride. He helped change this kid’s life for the better. Then something disturbing came to mind.

 

“Hey, weren't you and your mom supposed to have a police escort? Where are they?”

 

“I refuse to have me and my son constantly followed by police! It's bad for business.”

 

Cassius turned around to see Celia walking up to him and Jason.

 

“Wait, Jason is your son?”

“Yes he is, however hard-headed he may be,” Celia said. She turned to look at Jason with a stern look. “Honestly, I have no idea where he gets it.”

 

_Really? I can definitely see where he gets it._

 

“Ma’am, I can assure you that it may be in your best interest-“

 

“I know the risk. I've got plenty of ways to keep those damn hooligans away from my shop. I've been doing fine for the past year and I have plenty of regular customers who can help me when I'm in a pickle.”

 

_Why do people ignore logic?! It's so frustrating!_

 

"Ma’am, please. If not for you, then for your son. He was a member of the gang that BLEW UP a police station. If they feel that he has any information that could hurt their cause, they'll do whatever they can to take him out.”

 

Celia paused; her gaze shifted towards Jason. A look of concern swept across her face, but left just as quickly as it appeared. She shifted her focus back on Cassius before he spoke.

 

“Cassius, I've known you since you were a little tyke just starting on his journey. My boy is strong and capable. He can take care of himself as well as any traveling Trainer.”

 

"Then I may have an offer for him.”

 

Cassius turned around to see those emerald green eyes staring at the group. Cassius couldn't read the look on his face. Rhea hiding behind his ankles, however, was another story.

 

"I need guards while on my research trip here in Kalos. While I am certain that Cassius is capable of providing me with ample protection, I can never be too careful. Plus, Cassius will be a wonderful deterrent against any gang members out to get your son.”

 

Cassius’ jaw almost dropped to the floor. What Darren just proposed was outlandishly far away from anything that Cassius was comfortable doing.

 

“Darren, I don't think that this is a good idea. It's my job to make sure that you are safe while here in Kalos. I can't do that if I have to worry about a kid with a hit on his head.”

 

“Fellas, maybe we should move this conversation to a more appropriate place,” Celia suggested.

 

Cassius looked around to see some patrons giving them wary looks. Other customers wore plain faces to keep the fear hidden.

 

_Wow, Cassius. Good job not paying attention_

 

-.-.-

 

“Excuse me for a minute. I need to see someone about a possible noise complaint.”

 

Cassius stood up and walked away from Darren, leaving him alone with his own half-eaten breakfast. However, he did get treated to a wonderful view of Cassius’ perfectly toned ass.

 

_I hate it when you leave, but love when you walk away._

 

So there he sat, picking away at his breakfast. When he finished his own he was still hungry. His stomach growled as if to reinforce this thought. He looked over to see where Cassius stood talking to the young Trainer who just rode in. He reached over for the half-eaten croissant on Cassius’ plate when he heard a woman’s voice from inside. Darren turned to see Celia squaring up to Cassius with her arms crossed. Cassius’ hands sat on his hips and he squared right on up back to her. The poor boy off to the side just stood there trying to keep his fear of this situation hidden.

 

“I know the risk. I've got plenty of ways to keep those damn hooligans away from my shop. I've been doing fine for the past year and I have plenty of regular customers who can help me when I'm in a pickle.”

 

Darren quietly walked over to the ruckus when he saw things were getting a bit more heated than they should have been. Cassius looked flabbergasted and frustrated all at once, Celia looked like she was about ready to give Cassius a verbal beat down or a right hook, and the kid that stood between them still looked scared and confused.

 

_Oh boy. What the hell is happening over there?_

 

Darren struggled between his curiosity and what he knew was right.

 

Darren’s curiosity won out in the end, so he crept up closer. As the “discussion” continued, a crazy idea crossed his mind; he knew Cassius would hate it.

 

-.-.-

 

Cassius nodded. Before heading to Celia’s office, Cassius and Darren went to check on their Pokemon. Everyone but Flash was up and about in the yard, playing tag with each other after having finished eating their meal. Flash just lay curled up on the terrace basking in the warmth of the sun. Cassius kneeled down next to Flash, putting his hand on Flash’s head, as Darren motioned over his Sigilyph.

 

“Hey, buddy. Darren and I are heading into Celia’s office to talk some things over. Can you keep an eye on everyone?”

 

Flash mewled in acknowledgement and leaned further into Cassius’ hand. Cassius gave him one last scratch behind the ears before turning to see one of the strangest sights he'd ever seen. Darren was just staring into the eyes of Totem for what looked like a while before breaking eye contact. They both nodded at each other and turned to go inside. They followed Celia with her son into the back office to discuss the possible arrangement.

 

As soon as the door was closed, Cassius turned to Celia sitting at her desk with Jason standing beside her. He wanted her to understand the danger that she may be putting her son in if she went along with the idea.

 

“I want you to know that I am outright against this entire idea. Jason is not trained to be a bodyguard and would possibly get in the way if we did get attacked. I am not on a sightseeing trip of Kalos with the Professor, I am on an assignment that has the possibility of us being attacked, injured, kidnapped or killed or any combination thereof. So please, consider all these factors before you decide whether or not to let your son be hired by Professor Stone for this job.”

 

Cassius hoped that he made himself very clear. He couldn’t be worrying about keeping both Darren and Jason safe on this assignment. Granted, it would help to travel in more than a pair, but Jason was not the right fit for the job.

 

Celia turned to Darren and asked “What about you? Why should I let my son go with you?”

 

Darren stood up straighter while acknowledging Celia. Cassius noticed an air of maturity suddenly surrounding Darren that he hadn’t seen yet. This surprised him as Darren normally had a more playful persona and presence most of the time.

 

“Ma’am, I am here not just looking for a bodyguard. I am also here to provide to your son an opportunity to grow. Not only will he be paid for acting as a personal bodyguard, I am also willing to take him on as my own aide. I will need someone to help me with organizing my notes, to help with my research, and to help me take care of everyday tasks. Not only am I providing your son with a job that gets him away from here and the gangs, I’m providing him with a chance to be better than he is now.”

 

Cassius stood in the confined office looking between Darren and Celia. Cassius stopped on his third look at Darren and realized that he was right. Darren was thinking about how to help Jason. He was thinking of how he can help Jason become more by having him help himself. Cassius was just thinking of how to minimize problems that may come up on this assignment. Cassius turned to look at Celia.

 

Celia closed her eyes a moment and let out a sigh. She shifted in her seat to face Jason, casting him a soft, motherly look. “Dear, what do you want to do?”

 

Jason looked at his mother, a look of surprise quickly forming on his face. His gaze quickly turned to Cassius and Darren before retreating back to his mother.

 

“What?”

 

“You heard me, son. What do you want to do?”  


Cassius looked at the young teen as Jason’s face became deliberative. After what seemed to be minutes he looked back to his mother.

 

“I want to go. I want to show you that I’m better than the me that got caught up in a stupid gang. I want to become better than the me from before. I want to make you proud again, Mom.”

 

Cassius’ heart panged a bit at that. Jason was just like him in some ways. He wanted to please his mother as much as he wanted to please his father. Jason wants to prove to everyone he’s not what they labeled him when he was with the Coumarine Crew.

 

Celia smiled softly at her son, then turned to Darren and Cassius.

 

“Well, I guess you have your answer, Mr. Stone.”

 

Darren smiled and nodded at Celia, then turned to Jason. He stretched his hand out to Jason. Jason reached for his hand and gave it a strong shake.

 

“Thank you, sir, for this opportunity. I promise you won’t regret it.”

 

“See to it that I don’t. We are going to be leaving in a few hours so you might want to get packed before we leave. Meet us back here in three hours, then we’ll leave for Shalour City.”

 

Jason nodded his ascent, then turned to his mother. He reached down to give her a hug before stepping out. Celia turned to Darren and Cassius once the door was closed.

 

“Thank ya for taking a chance on my son. He’s truly a good kid. He was so kind and caring as a boy. Now he’s starting ta grow up. Can you promise me that you’ll take care of him as much as he’ll take care of you?”

 

“I assure that I’ll do what I can to make sure he’s taken care of, ma’am,” Darren promised. “He will be fine, and if anything terrible happens, we’ve both got our trusty Detective Proctor to help.”

 

Darren turned to Cassius and gave him a dazzling smile, temporarily stopping his brain function. When he jumpstarted his brain again he nodded at Celia. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. I’ll keep him safe.”

 

-.-.-

 

As soon as Jason returned to the café and said his final goodbyes to his mother, they were on the road. Cassius made a pit stop to the police department and debriefed Chief Ryodan about the newest addition to the traveling party. As expected, Ryodan was not too pleased but still respected the wishes of the Professor.

 

Cassius stepped back outside the ruined police station into the parking lot where the car was still running. He could see Jason let out one of his other Pokemon, a yellow frilled lizard that he recognized as a Helioptile. The little lizard ran circles around Jason with Anubis chasing close behind. Cassius could see that Jason was enjoying his Pokemon’s happiness and even caught a flicker of a grin. He turned to see how Darren was reacting to the situation and was not surprised to see Darren just smiling like a giddy fool at another’s happiness. Rhea, however, still hid behind the coattails of her trainer, clutching tightly to the hem of Darren’s corduroy pants. As Cassius drew closer, Darren began to speak up.

 

“I thought it might be a good idea to have our Pokemon interact with each other for a bit. You know, get the team familiar with each other.”

 

Cassius nodded in agreement, but then looked at his watch and reminded himself that they were far behind schedule.

 

“Good idea, but maybe after we get to Shalour City. We’re pretty behind schedule and we need to get going.”

 

Darren frowned, but nodded in agreement, bending down to scoop Rhea up in his arms. Jason was reaching to his belt for what Cassius assumed was his Pokemon’s Pokeball. He raised a hand to stop him before returning his Pokemon.

 

“It’s a good idea to keep at least one of your Pokemon out on a trip like this. You never know when we will be attacked by your pursuers. Plus, I think Anubis is getting along pretty well with…um…”

 

“Volt. His name is Volt.”

 

“Right. So yeah, go ahead and keep Volt and Rhea out when we travel.”

 

Jason nodded and picked up Volt and placed him on his shoulder. Anubis followed behind him. With everyone in the car, Cassius put the car in gear and headed to their next destination: Shalour City.


	11. Bumps in the Road

Chapter 10

Bumps in the Road

 

                The drive from Coumarine to Shalour City was a long one. Darren would go on random tangents about ancient lore involving legendary Pokemon and what they did to push humanity forward, while Jason would sit there enthralled in the story. There were times where the little Pokemon were just rowdy and running around in the car, nearly knocking them off the road. After pulling over and giving them a stern talking to, things quieted down. The scenic view off the bridge over Azure Bay was breathtaking. The sapphire waves crashing in the wakes, the salty sea air invigorating his body, the wind blowing across his face; Cassius felt jolted back into high gear. He wouldn’t fail this mission.

                “So Cas, how far did you get in the Gym Circuit?”

                The question pulled Cassius back from his silent reverie. He turned to see Darren looking at him with questioning eyes. Jason looked at him with piqued interest. Cassius wasn’t used to being put on the spot with such a blunt question, but he felt that was going to become a common occurrence on this trip. He cleared his throat before he answered.

                “I got through all eight Gyms.” _There. I answered his question._

                “Really? With only four Pokemon,” Darren questioned.

                _Oh boy. It’s gonna be THAT kind of questioning._ Cassius sighed, mentally preparing himself to tell this story again. Every time he told this story, he was sure someone would call bullshit. It’s very hard to believe that anyone would make it through all the Gyms without a full party of Pokemon, but few people were gifted with an upbringing like his.

                “Actually, it was three at the time. I didn’t get Cerberus until after I joined the police academy.”

                “Really,” Jason asked, sounding astounded.

                Cassius looked back in the mirror to see the look of child-like wonder on the kid’s face. He couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride that he could make someone with as jacked up a past as his smile with pure joy.

                “Yeah. I didn’t get a starter from Professor Sycamore, like most kids do. Patriot was a gift from my dad. He knew that I really liked Braviary as a kid, so he went on a trip to Unova to catch a Rufflet for my tenth birthday. I got Anubis as a gift from my father, too. His Lucario had an egg and he passed it along to me. It’s thanks to Anubis training hard that I was able to beat Grant in Cyllage City.”

                Jason looked at him with a furrowed, questioning brow.

                “So, you didn’t catch either of your first Pokemon?”

                Cassius cringed at that. It’s very true that he was gifted half of his team, and the other half he didn’t even need to catch. But that wasn’t the point, was it?

                “No, I didn’t catch any of them. I did save one of them, though.”

                “Really?! How,” Jason questioned. Cassius grinned a bit. He got the kid hooked, so he might as well finish telling the story.

                “It was Flash, my Luxray. I found him on my way to Shalour City from Geosenge Town in a Pokeball tossed off to the side of the road. I took it in to the Pokemon Center nearby to get it checked out. Turns out, it was left in its Pokeball for about a week with no food nearby. If I hadn’t brought it in to get looked at, he might have died from starvation.”

                Cassius saw Jason hold his Helioptile a little tighter. His face sagged and he was visibly hurt.

                “Why would anyone do that? Why would they be so cruel to someone who loved them?”

                Cassius felt a twinge of pain inside. He didn’t know why, but the thought of his father missing came to mind. _Yeah,_ Cassius thought, _why would anyone do that?_ He looked back at Jason, trying to keep a calm face. Cassius knew what he was about to say would hurt, but they opened that can of worms, so they were gonna get full disclosure.

                “There was a note left with the Pokeball. It said something along the lines of ‘This Pokemon is weak and is of no use to me, so whoever wants him can have him.’ I’m just paraphrasing though.”

                Cassius could see Jason was struggling to not punch something. It was cruel of Flash’s previous owner to do something like that to an innocent Pokemon. Hell, if Cassius knew who the previous trainer was, he’d have punched the son of a bitch in the face for what he did. But Cassius smiled.

                “Well, whoever they were, they missed out on a great Pokemon. It took a while for Flash to not be afraid of battling, but with some helpful words of encouragement from grandpa Ramos, it became more confident. He was my pinch-hitter in a gym battle. Honestly, without him I wouldn’t have beaten Olympia in Anistar City.”

                Jason smiled.

                The next hour of driving was Cassius regaling stories of his travels across Kalos, like walking through the hedge maze of Parfum Palace or visiting Pokemon Village. Jason was eagerly listening to every word that he said and Cassius could tell out of the corner of his eye that Darren was just as intrigued. After a while, it dawned on Cassius that this was probably the first time that Jason left Coumarine City. Hopefully, this trip wouldn’t end badly for the three of them.

 

-.-.-

 

                Shalour City was a beautiful place built into the sides of ocean cliffs. Off in the distance was the Tower of Mastery, standing firm against the crashing waves of the bay. There was no discernible path to the looming giant, but almost everyone in Kalos knew that at low-tide a sand path would lead right to its front door.

                The three of them arrived at the hotel about an hour behind Cassius’ schedule. Cassius parked the car and the group started to shuffle out. They carried their bags inside, with the little Pokemon trying to help.

                The hotel was a simple two-story cabin style inn with a common area furnished with large, plush sofas and armchairs. There was a table with fresh pastries and warm coffee set out for guests. Cassius made his way over to the check-in desk while Darren and Jason made their way over to the sofas and chairs to relax while waiting for their rooms. He rang the bell on the desk and a homely young woman in a simple, button-down white blouse came down the stairs. She pulled her glossy blonde hair out of her face into a ponytail as she stepped behind the front desk.

                “Hello! Welcome to the Cliffside Inn. How may I help you today, sir?” She flashed a welcoming smile that seemed genuine.

                “Hi, I would like to book three rooms,” Cassius said. “I booked ahead for two rooms.”

                “Name?”

                “Cassius Proctor.”

                The young woman started to type on her computer, eyes scanning the screen while she searched for his name. After a few moments, her brow furrowed in confusion.

                “Sir, I’m sorry but it seems that we had a mix-up with the system. We have you booked for a two-person suite, not two separate rooms.”

                “Oh. Well that should be fine, I suppose,” Cassius said.

                “I’m sorry, but it only has two beds.”

                That’s when Cassius’ heart dropped. “Are you sure?”

                “I’m positive.”

                “Do you have any other rooms available?”

                “I do, but your special instructions were to have you and the Professor on the same floor, no matter what.”

                Cassius bit his lower lip. _Why on Arceus’ great green Earth did this have to happen?!_ He’d just have to suck it up and deal with it. He could sleep on the couch. Hell, he could sleep anywhere comfortably. Just give him a pillow and a blanket and he’d be fine.

                “Alright, I’ll take the suite.” He passed his work issued credit card to the clerk. In one swift movement, she swiped it, produced the receipt, and passed it back to Cassius.

                “We serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner here at the Cliffside every day. The hours and menus for the day are all posted on the chalk board by the dining area over there.” She motioned over to a set of double doors on the opposite side of the building. “It’s buffet style, so feel free to help yourself to however much you want. We also provide balanced meals for your Pokemon.”

                “Thank you, uh…” Cassius squinted down at the nametag of the clerk. “Bethany.”

                “Your welcome. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you all to your suite.” Cassius called the other two over and they all went up the stairs behind Bethany the Clerk. She took them up the stairs and down to a door at the end of the hallway, passing numerous other doors as they went.

                She gave a polite nod goodbye after a quick exchange of thanks. She mentioned something about bringing up more blankets and pillows for Cassius, then left the three of them to their room for however long they would be in Shalour City. Cassius opened the door to a rather spacious living area. The room had bright wooden floors and walls with a ruby colored area rug in the center of the room. There were two royal purple sofas and an amethyst colored arm chair surrounding a wooden coffee table adorned with a vase. In the vase was a beautiful arrangement of local wildflowers that made the room smell like a fresh garden. Past the sitting area was a small dining table with a fully furnished kitchenette, complete with refrigerator and oven with a stove top. To the left and right were doors that would lead to separate rooms that Cassius would not be sleeping in.

                “Alright, let’s get unpacked. After that, we can head to wherever it is that you need to go, Darren. Which is where, by the way,” Cassius asked.

                “Oh, that’s right! I need to get to the Tower of Mastery. Do we need to rent a boat or something to get there?”

                Cassius gave Darren a sideways look, thinking that he was joking. It took a minute before he remembered that Darren wasn’t from Kalos, so he wouldn’t know about the low-tide path to the tower.

                Cassius pulled his phone out to look up when the next low-tide in the area would happen as he explained. “No. We wait till low-tide when the path to the tower shows up. That won’t be until later this evening around six o’clock, so we’ve got about three hours before the path even shows up. You probably won’t get a lot of research done tonight, but you can meet with the tower curator there to arrange times for you to work.”

                Darren nodded in agreement before heading off to the room to the left. Jason, however, just stood there with his bags.

                “Is everything alright,” Cassius questioned.

                “I thought that you were going to take the room and I’d get the couch.”

                Cassius shook his head. “No. You will take the bed. No kid is going to sleep on the couch just so I can be comfortable, so go into that room and get comfortable. We may be here for a few days.”

                Jason looked up at him with a surprised look before nodding and scampering off into his room with Volt. Jason placed his bags by one of the sofas and released the rest of his team. Patriot immediately moved in close to his side, nuzzling into him while Flash hopped onto one of the sofas and started to groom itself. Anubis and Cerberus started to run around the sitting area playing a game of tag. Cassius plopped down on the couch across from Flash and laid down to relax for a little bit before the others came out. After a few minutes, he felt something lay down on his stomach. He opened his eyes to find Anubis napping. Cassius was too tired to care, so he just let him be.

 

 

-.-.-

 

Cassius didn’t know how much more time went by before someone started poking him in the face. He flinched away from the sudden contact and opened his eyes. He saw Darren crouched over him with Jason standing behind him.

                “Time to wake up. It’s almost low-tide,” Darren said.

                “What,” Cassius exclaimed.

                “Yeah. You looked tired, so I let you sleep for a while. I took Jason out to go look around the shops and restaurants for later tonight. I thought we could go out tonight instead of eating in.”

                Cassius gave Darren a withering glare, then proceeded to slowly stand up and look him dead in the eyes. Cassius was doing everything he could to keep his anger in check. He didn’t want to yell, but he still needed to make the rules of this trip clear. He cleared his throat and started to speak in as level a tone he could muster.

                “Darren, don’t you ever do that again. It’s MY job to ensure your safety. I don’t mean to bash down on Jason, but he is not trained to be a bodyguard. What if something happened to you while you were out and I wasn’t around?! I don’t know how good of a battler you are. I’ve never seen Jason in battle because I knocked him out before he could do anything when we weren’t working together. So from now on, you are not to go anywhere without me. Is that understood?”

                The longer that Cassius spoke, the louder his voice got. It wasn’t until he finished speaking that he realized he was loud enough to probably be heard down the hall. Darren looked confused and frustrated at the same time. Jason just stood back away from the confrontation between the two adults. It was Darren who broke the silence first.

                “I understand your frustration, but that gives you no right to raise your voice to me. I do not deserve to be treated like that. So, let’s make this simple. You don’t raise your voice like that at me again, and I will not go anywhere without your presence. Sound good?” There was a bit of venom in that last remark.

                Cassius took a deep breath. Then another. After one last calming breath, he nodded his head. “Agreed. Now let’s get going before the tide comes back.” Cassius decided that he was going to keep Flash out and returned the rest of his team to their Pokeballs. “Both of you, pick a Pokemon to walk with. During the duration of this trip, you will always have at least one of your team out at all times.”

                Jason kept to using Volt for this outing, while Darren decided to let his Sigilyph and Snivy accompany him on their evening stroll. Cassius wasn’t too sure on how useful Rhea would be in a fight, but it seemed that Totem might be good enough in a pinch. They left the Cliffside Inn and started down the streets of Shalour towards the beach front.

                The walk to the beach was peaceful. Cassius was more focused on paying attention for possible attackers and dangers. Darren, on the other hand, spent his time explaining to Jason what he needed to do while they were at the Tower of Mastery.

                “From what I’ve been told by Diantha, the Tower of Mastery has extensive libraries that include the theory for mastering Mega Evolution and the current recorded species capable of Mega Evolution. What I need for you to do is be my go-fer and research assistant,” Darren explained.

                “I understand what a go-fer does, like getting food and drinks. I did that back in the Coumarine Crew, but what do you need me to do as a research assistant,” Jason questioned.

                “Hmm. I guess the best way for me to explain it is that I’ll need you to help with the research, like reading books for me, taking notes that seem important; stuff like that.”

                Jason smiled. “You mean I’ll actually be doing real work? Not just being a go-fer?”

                “Yeah. When I said, ‘I need a research assistant’, I wasn’t lying. Honestly, with your help I could probably get done with this whole trip a lot faster. Who knows, if you do a good job I just might offer you a permanent position.”

                Cassius quickly glanced behind him to see that Jason had the biggest grin on his face, pure joy completely rippling from his very being. Cassius knew that he was right about the kid before. He knew that he was only a victim of circumstance and if he was given the break he needed that he could become someone great. Cassius grinned and went back to work keeping an eye out on their walk.

                By the time they made it to the beach, the tide receded and the path was exposed. Cassius lead the group down to the Tower of Mastery, ready to take the first step of what seemed to be a long journey.


End file.
